Code Nelly
by chewingsoul
Summary: Travelling back in time is always tricky, not only can you fuck your existence up, you run the risk of fucking the world upside down. But with an opportunity to save a father you wish to know personally, and in turn, make the world a better place? Might as well take that chance. Who knows, it could be fun. Whether the world likes it or not, Annella will leave a mark in time.
1. Prologue

I look at the world and see nothing but despair. The moment I became aware of things, the question how all of this happened tends to plague my mind. How did all of this happened? In today's world where true information is limited to rulers, it's difficult to truly know whether the history laid out for many to view, is true or not.

"The Demon Emperor is responsible for all of this!" is the ongoing slogan of the media outlet here in Japan. The Demon Emperor did this and that, it's so blatant of a lie but everyone seems to go along with it. Well, not me. Because I know who's responsible. I know the Demon Emperor, and he's not the one who turned the world into a state of constant fear and terrorizing. This current dystopian world is founded on the satellite warship orbiting the earth, the Damocles, that's what it's called. It's amazing how the majority of the world has no knowledge of such a weapon looming above their heads. I guess it just goes to show how powerful the media is, and considering they have the perfect scapegoat to put all the blame on, the Damocles was put outside of the public to view. But it's still there, engraving fear at the hearts of world leaders, forcing them to bow their heads to the person who reign control over it, the 100th Emperor of Britannia, Schneizel el Britannia.

It's been seventeen years since the death of the Demon Emperor. On his unprecedented defeat at the hands of the Second Prince of the Britannian Empire, Schneizel became the hero in everyone's eyes. I only have an inkling of what happened afterwards, but I'm certain that they were all fabricated.

The Demon Emperor is not a Demon, and morally questionable his deeds may have been, I know he was in the right. Well, that's the conclusion that I came out with after hearing the tale of the legendary Zero. Lelouch vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge, Zero, he goes by many names, but one thing is for certain, he tried to create a gentler world while looking forward at the future. Well, that's how mom tend to say it, but I agree with her, I'm sure that's what he envisioned. It's too bad that his failure cost him his life, I wonder what he would have thought of me, his one and only daughter.

"Dad, it sure would have been nice to meet you," here I am, sitting over a rock, admiring the sunny blue sky in the middle of one of the few untouched forest in Japan. I touch the locket that mom gave me, and when I opened it, I was greeted by the so called Demon Emperor, smiling without any care in the world. Mom said it was the rarest picture she had of him.

"I can help with that," hearing an unfamiliar voice, I briskly turned around to see the source of it, "You must be Annella, I'm an old friend of your parents," she said after waving her silky green hair to the wind. The yellow orbs in her eyes looking at me with a hint of affection, "My, aside from the color of your eyes, you sure took after your mother," she said as she went to approach me.

"That green hair, you must be the witch that gave that Geass power to my dad," I said, hesitating to be comfortable with a stranger who seems to have a habit of eavesdropping.

"Witch? What did Kallen told you about me?" she sighed, her black gothic dress swaying as she moves.

"C.C. am I right?"

"Yes," she simply answered.

"What do you mean you can help me meet my dad?" I asked.

"Simple, I can help you to meet him," she answered with a playful grin.

"He's dead!" I shouted, feelings of anger and annoyance welling up inside me.

"That's true," she said with a tone of regret, prompting me to ask in confusion, "What if I tell you that you can meet him when he was still alive?" then it dawned on me.

"Time travel?" I asked somberly, I can't believe I'm being led by this green haired witch.

"Why yes," she said as she spun around, "Now, shall I list the terms of the contract?"

After a lengthy conversation with the witch of pizza hut, I found myself accepting the deal of saving my dad from his death, and at the process, try to change the world for the better. She's eloquent, persuasive, and surprisingly insistent.

"Now, while I can securely put you in a safe area, I can't pinpoint the exact time in the past to send you, but it'll be in the span of those two years where your dad is fighting against Britannia," she said in what I can assume is her lecturing mode, "After you get back to your senses, look for a newspaper or ask someone about the date, then look for the date in this journal, and go from there. Unfortunately I can't give you instructions afterward, so I can only wish you luck," I just nodded in response, somehow I expected that I'll be on my own after she sends me back. She then reached for her pocket and handed me a blue earring, "And here's a Geass Canceler, put it on you at all times, it only reacts when someone uses their Geass on you, it'll be extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with your father," she said with a wry smile, "Oh and do limit your expectations, your father might not be the virtuous person you had in mind."

"What do you mean?" I asked with one brow raised.

"Well, you'll know it when you meet him," she said. It reminded me of what my mom used to say about dad. She always describes him as being enigmatic, guess that's what mom was into when she was at my age.

"Say, is this truly necessary?" this took her full attention as I looked at her with a serious expression, "I'm grateful for what you're doing, and I truly want to meet my dad, but what of the consequences that can arise from this?" after binging through time-travel films last week with mom, I'm made extremely aware that fucking things up is inevitable when it comes to time-travel.

"It is," she said, mirroring my serious expression with hers, "This… future isn't supposed to happen. The world we're living in right now is the result of the wrong person gaining the power to go back in the past."

"You mean someone already messed with time?" I asked in bewilderment. Chaos theory and the stupid butterfly effect tends to favor villains' fortune as movies portrayed.

"Yes, and it resulted on the defeat and death of you father," as she said that, I felt the air grew colder.

"How…" I didn't get to finish my question, but she proceeded to answer nonetheless.

"I'm connected with the history of the world, and as to what originally happened, your father had sacrificed himself to take the hatred of the world to his grave," I was dumbfounded at what she was telling me, "He still had the same bad reputation as he has right now, but there was no Damocles, and no Schneizel on the throne, rather it was Empress Nunnally who was fixing the world to be better," Nunnally? Dad's little sister? But she was reported to have died on the same day as my Dad died.

"I know you're full of questions right now, but time is running short," I looked at her, and noticed the panic in her eyes, "There are people after me, and I can only send you at this span of time," she then gave me sympathetic smile, "Trust me, you'll find the answer in the past. And don't worry about your mom, if you succeed, I'm sure she'll understand."

"Or she'll kill both of us," I said, we shared a laugh on the reaction we expected from my protective mother. Afterwards her expression turned serious, albeit a bit softer than what she had on before.

"Are you ready?" I nodded, "Close your eyes."

After closing my eyes, a sudden attack of dizziness erupted on my head and spun my entire world. When I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting on a grassy patch. Looking up, I found myself staring at the moon and the night sky. Looks like I did travel in time.

* * *

As for Annella's appearance, just imagine Kallen with amethyst eyes and long hair, tied in a ponytail.

Feel free to leave a review.


	2. Chapter 1

Lelouch had his mind full, after all, his real memories just resurfaced yesterday. His main source of concern at the moment is the whereabouts of his baby sister, Nunnally. From what C.C. had told him, she was kidnapped by someone named V.V. during the Black Rebellion. Since the enemy has Nunnally in their midst, it's important for him to act as Lelouch Lamperouge who has no memories of being Zero. Another big problem was Rolo, his so called little brother.

 _"To think that they'd have the audacity to replace Nunnally with a puppet, how dare they?"_ Lelouch thought grimly as he looked at the quiet boy eating his breakfast,

"Is something wrong, brother?" Rolo asked with concern. Lelouch replied with a fake smile to absolve his worry.

"It's nothing, Rolo, I was just thinking about yesterday, and how thankful I am that we both got out without a scratch," the little brother nodded, a smile displayed on his face. Once he returned back on eating his breakfast, Lelouch eyed the boy with suspicion.

He took note of the massive transfer of students from Ashford Academy after the rebellion, so it was normal for the new students to have no knowledge that he has a little sister. What surprised him is the fact that none of the student council members remembers Nunnally. He thought of his bastard of a Father and came to the conclusion that he must have used his Geass on them.

 _"A Geass that distorts memory, how fitting for a man who usurp his power through lies and deceit,"_ thinking about his father made him lose his appetite. He excused himself, and told Rolo he'll head out first. The younger boy nodded, but not without a hint of suspicion, as Lelouch noticed from his pretend brother's eyes.

There was one more thing that concerned Lelouch, and it pertains the person who talked to him the other day, a day before he regained his memories. Lelouch closed his eyes to clearly remember the event.

* * *

Lelouch was walking through one of the empty hallways of Ashford Academy after deciding not to attend his P.E. class. His mind was formulating an excuse that he could use in case he got in trouble with his teachers. He was put to stop when a girl, a head shorter than him, halted him in his stride. She stood there in front of him, unmoving with her amber-colored hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing the school's uniform, so he quickly thought of her as a student, but this was the first time he'd seen her.

"You're Lelouch Lamperouge, am I correct?" she started, her sharp expression slightly intimidating the carefree Lelouch. With his pride not liking the intimidation, Lelouch countered with the same expression.

"And what of it?" and as a small revenge, he answered her question with another question, like a barking puppy.

"Nothing," she shrugged her shoulders, acting like this was boring her. She then turned around before saying, "Talk to me when you're Zero."

Lelouch just raised his eyebrow in confusion, not understanding what the girl just said. He decided to just label the girl as somewhat of a weirdo and continued his entourage in cutting classes.

* * *

But now he was left suspicious. Who was that girl? How did he know that he was Zero? Did he misheard her? He quickly dismissed the idea. A lot of thoughts and assumptions flooded Lelouch's paranoia as he tried to guess the identity of the girl.

He continued on walking through the school's campus, only to be surprised when he saw the mysterious girl playing volleyball with a group of students. It was just a light game to pass the time as they were just passing the ball playfully, squeals and laughter mixing in the game. Lelouch looked at the girl and was dumbstruck at the normalcy she's portraying. It made him question his meeting with her. As thoughts continued to make way into his mind, one person approached him and commented on his intense stare at the girl with red hair.

"Like what you see?" Shirley said, bringing Lelouch back out of his thoughts.

"What? No, I was just curious, I hadn't seen that girl before," he spouted in his panic.

"That's because she just transferred the other day," Shirley explained, to which Lelouch's eyes widened.

 _"Transferring at such a time? This is getting more suspicious,"_ he thought as he looked back at the girl laughing along with her friends.

"Is she your type Lulu?" Shirley suddenly appeared in his line of vision, surprising the boy with her question.

"What are you talking about, Shirley?" he said before walking off.

"How cold," he heard her say. He started walking towards their classroom with Shirley tagging along.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl who's taking most of his thoughts at the moment looked at his passing figure. Distracted, she was then smacked in the face by a volleyball aimed at her. Screams of apology and worry followed as her world turns black.

Deciding that he's too cool for school, and that he has a rebellion to plan, he went off to the one place he knows he won't be surveilled for the time being, the school's clinic. After a fortunate movement by the student body, pertaining freedom and liberty, the amount of surveillance cameras were reduced at the school. But at the same time, Lelouch knows that there may be some still hidden, just for his sake.

Not wasting time the moment he gained back his memory, he did an extensive search around the school yesterday when he came back. Rivalz was free so he made him tag along to lessen the suspicion of him surveying the school. There were plenty of rooms that has no hidden cameras, but Lelouch was worried that someone will be sent out to watch over him instead, so he gave up on the idea of having a safe haven in school.

That is before he saw Villetta Nu, his current P.E. teacher, talking to Shirley. He's certain the pretend teacher is a part of the people surveilling him. With that in mind, he went ahead to tell her that he's ready to make up for the classes he skipped. Shirley made a comment about how proud she is of Lulu turning over a new leaf, Villetta on the other hand has surprise eminent on her face. Since news of Zero's return is spreading like wildfire, her surprised expression was expected. Lelouch laughed inwardly at noticing her shock, he then called Rolo at the same time to complete his alibi.

But Lelouch still has one more motive in approaching Villetta. Since Zero is out there and Lelouch is in the gymnasium, Lelouch expected someone to come over and discuss something with the pretend teacher. Moments later when the nine people in the court with him was busy playing basketball, he saw the school nurse come over to Villeta with a hint of unease. Lelouch smirked at the oddness of the situation before a ball hit him in the face, leaving him with a bloody nose.

Unfaltering, he used the lucky accident as an excuse to go to the clinic. Ever the actor, he exaggerated the pain he felt so the pretend nurse couldn't help but play her role as a school nurse, and escort him to the clinic. The clinic was one of the place not guarded by a surveillance camera, so when they arrived, he dramatically turned around, took off his contact, and used his Geass to turn the pretend nurse into his slave that will do any of his bidding. He first made the woman answer all his questions, and true to his suspicion, she was indeed part of Villetta's stalker team. She told her that she's the one in charge of monitoring the area around the clinic, and with that information in mind, Lelouch ordered her to ignore his presence and anything he's about to do whenever he's in the clinic unless he called out to her. He also made sure that whenever the pretend nurse is to make her report, she'll report that nothing out of the ordinary happened and that Lelouch is still the same. With that, he claimed the clinic as his temporary base.

Lelouch savored the memory of his success as he stood in front of the clinic. That success further fueled his confidence as Zero, since he's slightly worried he'd gone rusty after staying cooped up as a normal student.

His victory over that lousy viceroy and the magnificent trick he pulled out on the media ridden Lelouch of his worries for the moment. His mood was on its peak, and he wanted to laugh like the magnificent bastard that he is. After seeing that no one was near the area, combined with the delusionary feeling of grandeur, Lelouch laughed maniacally at the memories of his consecutive victories. He opened the door to the clinic, knowing that the only person inside is the nurse who he ordered to ignore his presence.

"What the hell was that laugh about?" with a mixture of confusion, shock, and slight disappointment, the mystery girl that took hold of Lelouch's paranoia, stood before him.

Lelouch felt like he was caught with his pants down. His thoughts were jumbled up and he couldn't think properly, leaving him in a stuttering mess.

"W-W-What are you doing here?!" he pointed at her and demanded, holding the expression of a boy who's porno stash was discovered by his little sister, " _Thank god, Nunnally's blind,"_ a random passing thought appeared in his mess of a mind. He quickly dismissed it and crushed it for his subconscious to forget, eliciting his self-pity to the max. But he has no time to mentally hang himself for the damaging intrusive thought, as the source of his concern grinned like a devil.

"S-S-Sorry, W-W-What was that?" mocking Lelouch's stutter, the little devil held out her ear, pretending not to hear what he just said.

"Y-You…" ambushed by the mockery, Lelouch couldn't find a proper retort against the she-devil.

"M-Me?" she continued with an innocent voice and an innocent face.

"Stop it!" Lelouch called out, his pride and magnificent bastard status taking a massive hit as he criticized himself for falling to the girl's provocation. The girl just laughed in response, leaving Lelouch to clench his fist out of shame, and the girl holding her stomach for laughing too much. The thought of using his Geass to force the girl to forget the event came to his mind, but before he could ponder on doing it, the girl stopped on her laughs, seemingly content at what she just saw.

"So this is the Great Lelouch, huh?" she started, wiping a tear on her eye, "Seriously, what's with the laugh earlier? Are you planning to audition as a Bond Villain or something?" she let out a small chuckle before trying her best to take control on the smile forming on her face. This just irritated the boy further, but since time had calmed him down of sorts, he decided he doesn't have time for petty grudges.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" he demanded, this time with the tone of a ruler. The girl admiring his seriousness, mirrored the same expression on his face.

"I'm Annella Corabelle, nice to make your acquaintance, Lelouch," the boy just scowled in response, portraying a cold exterior, "As for why I'm here…" she looked at the nurse who she noticed had been ignoring their loud exchange, she grinned the same way she did earlier, and held her posture confidently, putting her right hand to her hip, "I've been waiting for you, Zero."

Lelouch's eyes sharpened, his suspicions was correct, she knows his identity. Their amethyst eyes staring at one another. Zero scowled, and the mysterious red-head smiled mischievously in response. They both stayed like that for a few seconds before a trail of blood came out of the girl's nose.

"Your nose is bleeding…" Lelouch casually pointed out.

"Ah…"

* * *

What can I say? Like father like daughter, both being graced with fortune after getting a bloody nose.

Expect an update this Saturday, or don't expect it.

Feel free to review, criticize, or whatevs.


	3. Chapter 2

"Okay, where were we?" after wiping off the blood down her nose and placing two small role of tissues on her nostrils, the fiery girl stood back up and called Lelouch's attention. He had used the time it took for the girl to find some tissues, to make sure the nurse also ignored the annoying girl's words, she did just blurted out Lelouch's secret identity like it's a trivial matter.

"You've been waiting for me… that's what you've last said…" though Lelouch is acting calm, inside his head his thoughts are firing off danger alarms, _"How could she had known that I'm going to be here? Did she follow me yesterday? But I made sure no one followed me when I used my Geass on that nurse… Damn, I let my guard down since I expected that nurse was one of the people monitoring me, I thought they wouldn't have bothered on sending another one. Did I underestimate those loafers? Wait is she even a part of Villetta's squad? If not then she could be an unforeseen threat, but from what faction? Does she even know about my Geass? If she's a member of them, she would have known, but the lack of back-ups barging in to point their pistols at me says otherwise. Damn it, I can't figure out this anomaly. To think someone of this caliber is snooping around at this school, I've been far too careless. If she does know about my Geass, then confidently facing me would mean she has some sort of counter against it. On the off chance that she does have one, my trump card could easily go to waste… I need to plan accordingly. And there's also this nagging feeling in my gut to consider, I don't know why, but my instincts are telling me that it's wrong to use my Geass on her… wrong or dangerous?"_

As Lelouch continued his ceaseless internal monologue, the red-head just looked at him and wondered why he stayed quiet all of a sudden. After seeing Lelouch with his memories back on, Nelly couldn't help but be happy. Though this is technically their second meeting, seeing her dad when he's the legendary Zero somehow made it clear that she is in fact with the father she personally never got to know. This meeting proved to be enough for the girl to thank C.C. in her heart, for the opportunity she had given her. How jumpy she is right now, she's fighting the needed urge to just jump in and hugged the man no matter the weirdness and the awkwardness that was sure to follow. But she stopped herself, after all this man in front of her have no knowledge of who she is. Instead, she let out a smile and savored the unforgettable memory she's been given.

Seeing the out of the blue smile from the girl, whom Lelouch dubbed as the devil, intensified his paranoia, his thoughts needlessly running twice as fast.

 _"How lucky, to think that the knock out I got in the morning would lead into this. For added bonus, I get to see dad in his goofy nature, worth all the pain!"_ she exclaimed in her thoughts. The silence between them untouched as she joins Lelouch in their first parental inner monologue sequence. _"Still, he looks so serious. Though I do recognize that face. That's the expression I see in the mirror whenever I'm overthinking things. Guess what mom said was true, I did get the overthinking part from dad. I wonder what he's thinking about. His stare is so intense, I think mom from this time would get insanely jealous if she were to see him staring at me like that. It's kind of making me self-conscious, sheesh, I didn't knew dad was this handsome in person. I guess I can't blame mom for being smitten at him. Oh that's a dangerous path, Nelly, do not go down that road, you'll end up fucking your existence. Hehe, fucking. Oh for fuck's sake,"_ feeling troubled to the direction her thoughts are taking her, Nelly took it upon herself to break the silence.

"Da-Zero," fumbled the ponytailed red-head, she doesn't intend to reveal who she is right now, she planned on saving that knowledge till later, when the time is right. So she just decided to roll with her slip of tongue, "What are your intentions on leading a Rebellion against Britannia?"

Lelouch's paranoid trance was put to stop as the girl in front of her dramatically turned her head at the right moment to ask him his intentions. Despite her silly look, with two pieces of tissue paper plunged in her nose, Lelouch felt the weight of her words. He couldn't understand it, but he felt a slight connection to the girl he suspects as his enemy. When he looked at her brimming with such confidence and finesse, he felt like he's looking at a kindred spirit. But he immediately squashed the thought and locked away what he just felt after reminding himself of the humiliation he suffered from her. Lelouch might not admit it, but he can be petty at times.

"Why do you wish to know?" he said, his violet eyes boring daggers to the girl. The act of intimidation blatantly laid out for her to see, though instead of acting against it, the girl simply took it in stride. She then crossed her arms and simper at the thought of being looked at by Zero in equal standing. Though she did mind the implication of his glare, that she is his enemy.

"You have a habit of answering other people's question with another question, why? Is dialogue some sort of a power play to you?" Lelouch tensed up at the accusation, and he couldn't really deny it. However, instead of barking back, he just maintained his animosity towards her. Annella sighed at the hateful expression that Lelouch is giving her, how paranoid _,_ she mused, "Relax, I'm not your enemy."

"You say that as if it's a trivial fact," he said, taking two steps forward, "How can I be sure of what you're saying?"

"You can't," she stated coldly, "Someone like you who uses others as if they're pieces in a chessboard must always be on guard on the moment doubt surfaces against you, that's why you hide behind a mask, is it not?" the provocative tone didn't go unnoticed, yet Lelouch's ego took it upon himself to challenge the girl's statement.

"How preposterous, you who appeared out of nowhere with a name that we're both certain is not real…" Lelouch immediately examined her expression and recognized the quick strain on her expression. He is of the same ilk after all, someone who veils himself with a fake name, "You act as if you know me… You know nothing, girl!" he declared with a dramatic swing of his right arm. The girl in question just stared at him with a longing look.

"What if I do?" she said.

"Then why ask for my intentions?" he said, his animosity reeling as a smirk grew out of his frown.

She bit her lip. Her dad truly is a formidable man, but he's making things harder by being so pent up on his ego. She's been provoking him this entire time, waiting for him to cast his Geass on her. After reading about his power on the journal C.C. gave her, she planned accordingly. One important condition for the plan to be executed successfully is for her to be immune to his dad's Geass. Though its power is absolute, he can only use it once per individual, afterwards the person who carried out his plan would be immune to it. However depending on the command, the curse of the Geass could latch onto someone for a lifetime. She thought it's too much of a risk considering she has too many secrets to keep, and she wouldn't want to be someone's puppet, be it her dad, for even a second.

Her plan was fairly simple. Let him use his Geass on her, and let the Geass Canceller that C.C. gave her take care of the rest. If the restrictions of his Geass are straightforward, then she'll be immune to her father's Geass afterwards. She also thought it's a good situation to test the powers of the blue orb hanging on her left ear. Steeling her resolve, she came barking back.

"Because your actions are questionable. I may know what you've done, and I may guess what you plan to do, but your intentions are never clear, even to those who calls you their leader and comrade."

"So you're nothing, but a critique then?" he said coldly as he closed his eyes, "You're asking for my intentions while putting your moral standards above to push it down. I can spout anything, even the truth, but if it doesn't suit your ideals, then you'll merely label it as false," Lelouch's accusation struck the girl with an awful realization, and it momentarily stunted her steeled confidence.

"That's not…" she bit her lip again, and with a sorrowful expression she opened her mouth, "I need to know," Lelouch didn't know what struck him, but hearing the girl say it in such misery melted his cold exterior, a part of his mind calling out that he owe her an explanation. Owe her for what? He can only ask. He was also getting jaded by their tirade, so with a scoff he started, prompting a look of surprise to the girl.

"I would like to say I do it to enact justice or carry out righteous judgment, but those are mere frivolities, they're vague and illusory," Annella listened in intently, her heart beating rapidly as she looked at the man who she once thought only existed from her mother's stories, "If you truly want to know the truth, I do it for the sake of my little sister and no one else, to create a world where she can truly be happy, and to carry out vengeance to those who abandoned her."

"So the great Zero is one big doting brother, huh? My, that truly is a surprise," she said in a wistful voice, void of any sort of shock. Lelouch felt that she expected that answer from him when he sensed the odd sympathy from her words. She turned around and opened the window, she laid her arms at the counter and let her sight get lost at the beautiful scenery outside the clinic. Lelouch stepped forward to take a look at the picture she's looking. He hadn't noticed it yet, but he had completely dropped down his guard as he watches her solemnly looking outside, the odd feeling of connection coming back at him. Though he tried hard to disregard the irrational feelings he's experiencing, he had already shrugged off her identity as his enemy. After all, no enemy of Zero would carelessly turn their backs on him, especially not someone who seems to know who he is.

"Did you ask for my motives in order to mock them?" Lelouch lightheartedly said as he found himself inching closer to the mysterious girl. She chuckled softly and turned around, putting a halt in his advance.

"No, I completely understand, that's why I'm a bit loss for words," she continued with a sad smile, which put a pang in Lelouch's heart, startling him dearly, "After all, family comes first, right?" she said as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Lelouch didn't know what pushed him, but in a brief moment of insanity, Lelouch embraced the shorter girl tightly, putting them both in a state of astonishment. Lelouch thought of breaking the embrace, and just run far away, then do an all or nothing attack against the Britannian Empire with his current measly army in order to erase what he just did from his memories. But the sob he heard and felt on his chest made him stay. Infected by Lelouch's insanity, Annella cried her eyes out and wailed like a little girl at her father's embrace. Just one meeting and she's already a daddy's girl, she briefly wondered what her mom is going to say to this.

* * *

Kallen felt a shiver down her back as she exited the shower. She took a towel and wrapped it around her, intent to escape the ridiculous shower room. It's just the second day of her coming back to her job as the captain of Zero's guard, she can't afford to be sick. She was then greeted by a girl with green hair, lazing around on the couch of the Chinese Federation Consulate's meeting room.

Since Zero appointed the large room to be their temporary lodge, Kallen couldn't help feeling somewhat miffed at getting such a luxurious room with such a lazy roommate. Of course Zero also planned on staying in the room, but due to circumstances, he's stuck pretending as a school boy. And Kallen kind of hated that version of Lelouch. Mainly because he made it his pass time to mess with her when they were still at the student council, and her not knowing he was the man she's been following all this time, made her think he's just a pompous jerk who can't seem to shut his mouth.

Finding out that the one she's falling for, and the one she wants to stab at any given moment was the same person didn't do well at her psyche at the time. She blamed Lelouch for it, and no one can really blame her for that, but in the end she dealt with it and she's here following Lelouch, or Zero again. Right now, she doesn't know whether what she feels for the man is love or contempt, sometime she thinks it's a mixture of both.

"Kallen, are you giving me a free show?" upside down at the couch, C.C. looked at the beautifully figured red-head as her towel begins to slip down. Eyeing her towel immediately, Kallen manage to get hold of it before it completely falls down.

"You know, the more I think about it, why didn't you posed as the bunny girl?" she tied in her towel and towered over the lazy girl who's shoving her assets above the couch, as she fits her head comply on the soft pillow, "It would have made more sense, and you could have awoken him much earlier."

"I agree," she said with her eyes closed, looking like she's concentrating to keep her balance in check, "I just thought you would like to see him first," she opened her right eye slightly to witness a flashing of pink on the redhead's cheeks. She closed it back again and smiled at herself, expecting her reaction.

"Should I say thank you then?" she jumped and sat down at C.C.'s side, making the girl's body fall down her lap, "Say, I've been meaning to ask, what's your real name?" she felt her stare tore deeply into her as she asked that question.

"My, how rude Kallen, you've just subjugated me to remembering painful memories," she said in a robotic like voice, feigning tears as she sniffed and brought her hands at her face. Blatant her act may have been, Kallen still felt that there's little truth on what she just said, but considering that being a witch of tease is her main occupation at the Black Knights, Kallen just pressed on.

"I think I have the right to know your name," the seriousness in her voice broke C.C. out of her little act and made her look at Kallen, "You did mooch off on me for the past year, seriously just the amount of pizza's I've fed you should make you a little grateful. At the very least, grateful enough to tell me your name."

"You're not going to let this go, won't you?" smiling at the witch's question, Kallen beamed at the girl.

"No."

"Very well, just don't tell anyone," surprised, but nonetheless grateful, Kallen lend her ears to the pizza loving maniac.

"I won't," before the immortal witch could reveal her real name to the fiery red-head, an urgent knock on the door took their attention. Kallen felt her eyes furrowed at the unfortunate timing. C.C. on the other hand just shrugged her shoulders in indifference. Putting the immortal's legs out of the way, Kallen took off and opened the door. She was then greeted by a flustered and incredibly panicky member of the Black Knights.

"T-The News!" he said before being distracted by Kallen's lack of an attire. The girl glared at the recruit and told him to continue on his report. The recruit did as he's told, afraid that he'll have his eyes gouge out if he stares at her lovelies for a second longer.

* * *

Wiping off the tears riddling on her face, Annella found herself in an awkward situation with her teenage father as they both sat across one another on the clinic's floor. Said father seemed aghast at what just happened, and Nelly could only pity the mellowed out revolutionary. Despite her surprise for his sudden hold of her, she did somewhat understand why he did it. It's in a human being's nature to instinctively display affection to their sapling, even if said human is not aware of having a sapling, and even on the case that said sapling came from the future to save the human's destined to be doomed ass, it's all natural to do so. Unfortunately for the human who has no knowledge of what's going on, inevitable confusion is abound. So Nelly feels sorry for him.

"Sorry for crying like that, I didn't know what got over me," her sudden apology startled the currently confused Lelouch. He's been screaming 2+2=4 in his mind the entire time, persuading himself that logic and reason trumps all, and that he's a logical and reasonable person. But every time he replays the image of him hugging a girl who's pretty much a stranger just like that, Lelouch couldn't stop cringing at his irrationality.

"You've no reason to be sorry," he said in a cold yet soft voice, "I should be the one to apologize, for doing that out of the blue," he thought that if he didn't say the word, it'll make him sleep his insanity off.

"No need to apologize for that," Annella waved her hands in embarrassment, "I think I needed that," she hear herself say as the heat on her cheeks rises up, because of the awkward implication she just made. Lelouch being sharp as ever, also realizes the implication. Not wanting the situation to escalate, both of them rose up from their feet, shocked and worried at their unusual coordination. Before they could mouth off excuses to run away, Lelouch's Zero cell buzzed. He hastily took the phone and read a quick message from Q-1.

"Check the news," the message read.

He quickly did so and opened the news app (its 2018, I'm pretty sure app's are a thing in Code Geass) on his phone. He clicked on the urgent news being showcased live and watched as another headache adds on his list.

Annella looked at the sudden seriousness that appeared on his face as he continued to watch something on his phone. She briefly wondered why before hearing the word 'execution' on Lelouch's cell. She was then reminded of the events that are about to follow. She spent the entirety of yesterday reading the journal C.C. gave her, and on it she saw a ton of info pertaining Geass, her parents, and most importantly the events that transpired during her father's rebellion.

 _"If I remember correctly, this is the time when a majority of dad's comrades were set up for a public execution to lure him out of hiding. How did it all play out again? Drat, why did I skim over such important details? This is all C.C.'s fault, why would she even write an intensive, articulate, and incredibly long essay about mom and dad's relationship? Thanks to that, I was too intrigued by their romance to check the rebellion part. Still, she's surprisingly an amazing writer, I sincerely thought it was a novella at first, guess that's what immortality does to you, gives you the time to hone different skill sets._

"You," Lelouch said, pulling Annella off her thoughts, he looked at her with a hesitant but serious expression, "If you're not my enemy, then are you my ally?" the girl in question steeled her stare at him.

"Yes," she said with determined resolve. Lelouch looked at her for a moment, internally asking himself if this was a good idea. But when he glanced at her resolute eyes, he was reminded of a certain person's loyalty, causing him to smile.

"Very well, I'll be needing your help," and with that, the two planned accordingly.

* * *

Li Xingke was in a good mood, after all he just offed a corrupt and greedy bastard without any repercussion to follow. Sometimes playing politics has its sweet side. Now he's off to play a game of negotiation with the Black Knights. After the news of the public execution was shown, Xingke knew it's time to cut losses. But he was interested in the leader of the Black Knights, the man known as Zero. He admired the man's audacity and theatrics, he kind of reminded him of the type of hero he wished to be when he was a kid. Though that's not his main reason for wanting to negotiate with them. If they could pull off a victory on tomorrow's fiasco, then they'll be an incredible asset as allies. Besides, he is looking forward to what Zero plans on doing.

After knocking out three Black Knight members singlehandedly, Xingke marches on. Opening the door to the meeting room, Xingke was greeted with the sight of two women holding firearms while sitting at the couch, the one with the longer hair fumbling with a pistol.

"You came alone, how unexpected?" C.C. said, letting the pistol she just dropped stay on the floor.

"I thought the United State of Japan have been recognized by the CFC General?" Kallen stated.

"He's been disposed of," he coldly stated, surprising the two, "And the Black Knights will follow lest they choose to go down the path of destruction right here," the red-head quickly tensed up and aimed her gun at Xingke, her aggression was quickly halted when C.C. started talking.

"I see, so you plan to put his death as an accident if the Black Knights were to instigate a fight," she then looked at Kallen, "Seems like Zero put into motion something he didn't meant to," she then looked back at the Chinese swordsman, "But judging by your non-aggression, it seems there's still room for negotiation."

"Indeed, I have a proposition for Zero, which I think will help both our sides."

* * *

After separating from Lelouch, Annella made a quick stop to her room in order to pick up the ever important journal of the great witch. She quickly flipped the pages of the journal to look at the events that will follow.

She released a sigh of relief as she sat on her bed, her father's life wouldn't be lost tomorrow. But she did notice something odd on the journal. First was the agreement with the Chinese. In the journal, C.C. wrote that the death of the Chinese Consul and the agreement with the Chinese strategist, named Li Xingke, happened at the same day Zero liberated his comrades. But what Lelouch told her earlier was different.

He had been hesitant, but he decided to speak up. Apparently after witnessing the news, Xingke quickly rallied his forces in order to subdue the Black Knights. He killed the consul and threatened to denounce their recognition to easily kick the Black Knights off Chinese Property, lest they agree with his proposition. Pushed into the corner, Zero agreed since saving his comrades from the execution takes first priority at the moment. Annella briefly wondered if she's now a part of her father's army when he's still evidently alive.

" _The details were the same in the event foretold in the journal, but why did it happened a day earlier?"_ she closed her eyes and thought of the second odd thing in the journal, _"And what was that warning about?"_

"I felt a shift in the stream of time, protect Lelouch," it read as Annella encircled it with red ink.

When she skimmed past through the pages, she found the exact same line at the event where Zero planned an ambush in the Pacific to go save Nunnally. She encircled it like the last line. After a quick search, she found three more warnings, making it five in total. The lines appeared on the moment where the Black Knights fought off with the Chinese and Britannian Forces while they were inside the Chinese Catacombs. The fourth one was written on the battle in Japan when the first F.L.E.I.J.A bomb was deployed. And the last was on the battle against Schneizel. How foreboding, the girl thought. She encircled all the warnings and pondered about what it means. Unfortunately she's unable to come up with a certain answer due to a lack of information. She heave a sigh and put the journal next to her, then laid down on her bed, eyes fixed at the ceiling.

"Well, this is how it normally is anyway. Overly relying on future knowledge while trying to change the future doesn't seem efficient," she said with a laugh. She then suddenly went quiet, letting her thoughts take over her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, and with a determined expression, says, "I won't fail you, dad," she rose up and head off to rendezvous with the young rebel leader.

* * *

Lelouch headed off to the student council room after hearing the bell designating the end of classes. He needs to keep appearances in check and play the role of being the right-hand man of an overly active blond president. He met up with Rolo earlier, before telling him he's headed to the student council, he also needs to play big brother to a stranger. Annoyed at the fact that he's being monitored everywhere he goes, he's fully tensed up on acting mode, one wrong move and things can go downhill really fast.

Still, not everything is going bad for the exiled prince, after all he just got a new ally. A complete mystery of an ally that rouses emotions from him that he only shows to Nunnally. He can live with the mysterious part, he already had one back in the base, why not add another one? But the irrational feelings that swells up in his gut whenever he looks at the girl does concern him. He's had his head full of questions as to why he did what he did to the girl. He still don't want to say the word, another irrationality, he added in his long list of worries. Stepping inside the student council's room, he was greeted by a scowling Shirley.

"Just when I thought you're turning over a new leaf, you went off and cut classes again," she said towards Lelouch, surprising him a little. She was wearing an apron, but Lelouch didn't bother asking, instead he just looked at their president. She was also wearing an apron, and is currently mixing eggs on flour. Rivalz was sitting on a chair near the table, staring at his crush, fantasizing the life he could have with her. Lelouch felt kind of bad to see his friend at a pathetic moment in his life so he just turned back to Shirley who seemed pissed off that he was ignoring her.

"Sorry, Shirley," he said with his trademark Lamperouge smile, "What are you guys doing?" Shirley feeling miffed at his lackadaisical apology, just frowned and told him they were baking and cooking, "What for?" he asked, to which the blond leader spoke up to.

"In celebration to you and Rolo being safe," she said, laying down her stuff. She then took an apron and a pair of oven mitts and handed it to Lelouch, "Help us, will you," she ordered with a smile. Nothing more ordinary than celebrating you and your pretend brother's near death experience, Lelouch thought as he took the cooking gears.

After 30 minutes of grueling culinary task to which Lelouch was imposed to, he caught wind of his breath after placing the cake to bake. Now he can just sit and relax through the celebration, he might as well use the following hour to unwind, there was still a task to do afterwards. Before he can let his mind wander off in his reverie, a knock on the door made the four students looked at each other.

"Was that Rolo, but he doesn't need to knock," Shirley said as she approached the door. When she opened it, she was faced with the transfer student she saw this morning.

"Oh hi, umm, is Lelouch in there?" she asked rather meekly, like a lost kid looking for her parents, Shirley noted.

"Yeah, he's here," Shirley eyed the girl and wondered why she's looking for Lelouch. She then turned towards her person of interest, "Lulu, someone's looking for you," Lelouch glanced at their direction and felt his heart raise in panic after seeing that red hair. Unfortunately for Lelouch, this also took the interest of the other two members, and they dropped whatever they were doing to look at the unexpected guest. Milly, ever the pervert, made a hasty conclusion of their relationship.

"You're the transfer student, right? Why are you looking for our esteemed vice-president?" she said in a hyperactive and happy tone, startling the girl, "Perhaps," she sleazily looked at Lelouch, "Girlfriend?" this produced a reaction to the three students near her, the two girls panicky at the accusation.

"She's a friend," Lelouch said, approaching the group, "Sorry, can I talk to her for a second?" and with curious stares, they let them be. Lelouch inwardly groaned as he expects them to gossip about this. They talked on the hallway, Lelouch opening the window to drown any noise that could be heard from them.

"What are you doing here?" he said in a voice slightly above a whisper, "I'm constantly being monitored, so it's risky to meet outside the clinic."

"Don't worry," she said, copying his tone of voice, "We're just students talking to each other, I just need to mention something to you," this rouses Lelouch's full attention, signaling her to go on, "I think Rolo has a Geass," she said, a shade of shock appearing on his face.

"Hahaha, you don't say?" surprised and confused by his response, the girl was about to say something when a teacher passed them by, looking strangely at the laughing Lelouch.

"Y-Yeah, I know right?" she quickly chimed in. They waited for the teacher to be out of ear shot before continuing their conversation.

"So you know about Geass…" he rubbed his temple, one small mystery solved, "How sure are you that Rolo has one?" he then asked.

"Remember the Vincent you fought yesterday?"

"You were there?!" he asked in a muffled scream, startling the teen.

"Y-Yes," she lied, "Anyway that Vincent headed towards the Chinese Consulate after your fight. I saw the pilot came out, and it was your pretend brother. I think he was going to do something, but was stopped by a phone call," Lelouch absorbed the bountiful information he just heard with a thoughtful glance. He didn't even bothered on asking her how she gathered all of that, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"I see, him having a Geass puts a dent on our current plan to subdue him, and we're still in the dark on what kind of power it holds," he then looked at the girl, staring at her violet irises, "This is indeed useful information, but why didn't you mention this earlier?" Lelouch glanced at the alarmed girl.

"Sorry, it just came to me…" she said with sunken spirits. Lelouch was then struck by an odd sense of guilt.

"No, no, it's not your fault," Lelouch said, "I'm thankful for the information," he noticed her sudden rise in spirits when she showed him a brimming smile before heading off to who knows where.

"See ya," she said waving at him as she ran, obviously in a good mood. Lelouch just waved back.

In his mind there was a heated discussion going on. His cynical side, sitting on a black chair, asked how it's not the girl's fault on forgetting such an important matter. His doting side sitting across the cynic on a white chair, ignoring the question why the hell was he doting on someone else than Nunnally, then defended the girl by pointing out that she found the information by herself. His suspicious side sitting on a red chair, then proposes that she didn't forget, rather chose to hide information from them. His doting side then cried and asked why they were being so mean to the girl. The discussion was then put to a halt, because of the danger of letting extreme emotion influence his actions.

"Brother, is something wrong?" startling him out of his musing, Rolo appeared out of nowhere and looked at his brother with a grin, seemingly excited for the upcoming celebration. He does get to eat free food without contributing in the cooking after all.

"Nothing, little brother, nothing," Lelouch thought as he looked at the seemingly innocent demon. _"Ugh, too many problems!"_

* * *

Did I say Saturday? I lied.

Btw, since I don't want to rewatch the series again, since I just kind of rewatched it last week (explains the fic), I'll just use butterfly effect to justify any canonical errors you can see, though feel free to point it out, it'll help.

Tell me what you think of this chapter or just post a review to reinforce my ego.

Expect an update next week, on Saturday again.


	4. Chapter 3

The news of Guilford's declaration to duel Zero is being replayed in the television as Lelouch is thinking of ways to corner his brother. With the knowledge of him having a Geass that can make him disappear and appear at a different place, the plan of surprising him with a gun on his head needs total revision.

His new accomplice volunteered on subduing his stranger of a brother, but Lelouch couldn't help but worry for the girl. Seeing that his growing concern is distracting him to think properly, he decided to replay their decided battle plan in his head.

* * *

"So you're going to create panic in order to cause a distraction, and then afterwards ambush your brother in their base?" Annella remarked pensively after listening to Lelouch detailing his scheme on a whiteboard laying around the clinic. The art of the plan, basic and made of stickmen, "You really are intrepid," Lelouch just smiled, wholly accepting it as a compliment.

"I admit it's not the best of plans, but it's the only one I have that has a positive chance of succeeding," Lelouch said as he closed the marker, "Care to add something?" the girl in turn grinned at the opportunity. She stood up and took the marker from Lelouch. After removing the cap, she draw a stickman representing herself in front of the Lelouch stickman in the enemy base.

"Just in case. You don't look like someone who can handle himself in a fight," Lelouch just scoffed at the stated fact.

"I'll be armed with a gun, I won't be needing muscles to pull the trigger," he said as he started erasing their scribbles on the whiteboard, it'll be annoying if they get caught because of this.

"Trained soldiers can easily disarm someone without any combat experience," she looked at him playfully, "And without a peashooter, you're just a scrawny guy with a smart mouth."

"Are you done with mocking my physical stature?" he asked out of annoyance, "You talk as if you're a soldier."

"Because I am," she then stood proudly and lightly bump a fist in her chest, "One of the finest," she said with an assertive smile. Lelouch just raised an eyebrow in response.

"You seem confident, then which army are you from?" he asked, catching the girl off-guard.

"That's…" she hastily rumbled for an answer in her mind before a sly smile appeared on her face, "I'm free-lancing under Zero now."

"So you don't plan on telling me," he said bitterly. She lowered her head and he heard her whisper a sorry, inducing him to continue, "Let's just make one thing clear, do you plan on betraying me?" hearing him say this, the girl broke out of her apology to look at him straight in the eyes.

"No."

"I see," Lelouch knows that he shouldn't blindly trust the mysterious girl, and it feels right to him to suspect her, but at the same time he feels it's also right to believe what she just said, "I'll be counting on you," he said while harboring two conflicting emotions.

"Yes, sir," she cheerily saluted.

* * *

In the end, Geass or not, Lelouch still found his current plan to have the highest chance of succeeding. And with a confident soldier in his midst, the probability for success just increases. The news just then finished on displaying Cornelia's Knight on the screen so Lelouch just turned the television off without a second thought. He was about to stand up and put his plan into motion before a creak on the door made him look at the person who just entered.

"Lulu, you're the only one here?" coming from outside the student council room, the popular orange haired girl from both the student council and swimming club entered blissfully as she looked at her crush.

"Shirley, don't you have club activities right now?" he asked, staying on his seat.

"Yeah, I'm about to buy a birthday gift for Coach Villetta," she said, taking a step forward, "I cause her a lot of headaches so I volunteered to do so."

"Birthday…" Lelouch said, getting a bit lost in his thoughts as an opportunity for a scheme takes place.

"Uh-huh, I'm looking for Milly to ask about ideas for a gift. Do you know where she is?" Lelouch smiled in response, thanking Shirley in his thought for the favored timing.

"I don't, but I could help you along the way," he suggested, startling the girl.

"You'll come with me?" she asked, feeling a bit hopeful.

"Yeah, I also cause some trouble for Coach Villetta, I'd like to at least help on choosing the gift."

"Ok," she said softly as her cheeks flushed for good reason.

"Alright, I'll go get changed, I'll meet you at the school gates in twenty minutes," he said as he stood up, the girl only responding with a nod. When he left the room, he grinned and sent out a one word message to his accomplice, signaling the start of their plan.

Parading around the shopping district to look for presents with Shirley, he noticed some suspicious individuals looking at their direction. He smiled when he saw the non-subtle figure of the other three members of the student council. He's surprised that Milly managed to drag Rolo into this, but nonetheless everything was going smoothly.

He then saw his accomplice sitting on one of the benches near the parking lot. She was wearing a black cap above her casual clothing, a sleeveless black shirt and navy blue jeans. Lelouch momentarily wondered about the leather bound notebook she was holding, she seemed extremely intrigued when reading it. He then glanced at their getaway vehicle, it was a simple black motorcycle with a few red highlights. Lelouch smirked at the subtle design.

He was about to proceed on the final stage of his plan before being brought to remorse as Shirley pointed her desire to get on a cabled car someday. Flashes of regretful memories flooded Lelouch's mind, causing him to clench his fist tightly.

 _"It's my fault, my fault that Shirley's memories were erased… Milly and Rivalz too… I swear, I will…"_ Shirley, noticing Lelouch's silence and change of expression, called him out of his thoughts.

"What's the matter?" she asked out of worry. Lelouch's face quickly lighten up as he proceeds to whisper to her.

"The others are following us," he said, surprising the girl, "Care to join me for a terrific prank?" she nodded with a smile.

After getting into the dressing room of a nearby clothing store, he started changing from his casual clothes to something that can temporarily conceal him, a blue jacket above a red shirt with black pants and a normal blue cap. He then picked up his Zero cell and implanted a device that makes his calls untraceable. He called the shopping district's security and threatened them with a terrorist attack using the Black Knights' name.

With a timely announcement paging an odd name, Lelouch quietly sneaked outside of the store. He noticed a fish took his bait as he started moving away, and after ten steps, the alarm he's waiting for started. It caused a wide scale panic in the shopping district, people running away and fearing for their lives. He turned around and took of the contact holding his Geass, he looked at the blond man who had followed him. When the man fell down due to a push of one panicked person, he hastily look for Lelouch's figure, but when he found his eyes on him, the man behind the mask of Zero put him under his spell.

He ordered the man to spread false information regarding what happened to his team, and to make sure he stays clouded off the whole thing, he additionally ordered him to take a leave of absence tomorrow, then fly off back to his country and visit his home and family, and once there, forget everything about his time in the OSI and stay with his family indefinitely. He sometimes finds it in his heart to be gracious to those he used his Geass on.

He then casually walked over his accomplice, smiling arrogantly as he looked down at the girl seated on the bench.

"And that's one easy way to cause panic," the girl then clapped in response, enforcing Lelouch's ego a bit. He's still a bit miffed when she mocked him earlier, so he subconsciously found the need to compensate by displaying his awesomeness to her from time to time.

"I must admit, I admire your handiwork," she beamed beneath her cap, "Now let's go, you can bask in your glory and laugh like a madman after we're done with this," she put her cap and the leather bound notebook on the motorcycle's compartment and picked up two helmets. She then freely threw one to Lelouch.

"You won't let that go, will you?" he asked as he put his cap on one of his jacket's pocket to replace its place in his head with a helmet.

"Nope," she said, the helmet muffling her voice for a bit, "Don't fall down," she said to Lelouch when she noticed him having a bit of trouble maintaining his balance, "Just hold on to me tightly, you've already done it before," she clasped his hands around her stomach and Lelouch just grunted in response, "Here we go!" and with the drowned sound of the motorcycle, they head off to the enemy base lurking beneath their school.

* * *

"Their secret base is in the library? Typical," commented the girl as they walk the empty halls of large shelves full of books, "How'd you find it anyway?" she asked the boy walking steadily.

"School records, being part of the student council gives you access to such," he said looking at the shelves and counting under his breath, "There was an unusual budget allocation on the library, putting it on remodeling, but no such thing happened."

"That and you used your Geass on that nurse, right?" the girl innocently asked. Lelouch just looked at the girl strangely.

"So you know about the nature of my Geass as well," he stated, the girl produced a little squeak at her slip up, "The more you talk, the more I wonder who you are. I doubt I'll be surprised if you tell my personal history into my face any day now," Annella chastised herself silently as Lelouch continued on counting the shelves.

"Sorry, I just…" she tried to find the right words to say before being shushed by her uninformed father.

"Save it," he said coldly, "We have pressing matters to attend to," the girl replied with a dispirited nod to which Lelouch just sighed inwardly. He continued on what he's doing, and a few seconds later, he found the shelf he's looking for, "28, here it is," they went inside the aisle of books and Lelouch pulled a thick book detailing the legend of King Arthur. It didn't get taken off, rather it acted like a switch, and as Lelouch pulled it downwards, it revealed an ID card slide. Lelouch pulled the ID he borrowed from the nurse, and once he slid it in, half of the shelf began to slide.

"Whoa, awesome school," cooed Nelly as she touch the metal on the side, "And it's made of reinforced steel, did they just built a bunker?" she asked no one in particular. She stopped in her awe and followed Lelouch when he started to descend forward. When they reached the elevator, the girl couldn't help but comment on it as well, and Lelouch fleetingly felt he's chaperoning a little girl on a field trip.

" _No tension at all…"_ he thought, admiring the girl's enthusiasm and fearlessness, _"This seems incredibly natural too her,"_ he pressed the button to open the elevator and once inside, he just clicked on the down symbol.

"So, who are we up against anyway?" she said once the elevator started to descend, "It'll be dangerous if a whole army suddenly appears as backup."

"There's no need to worry for that," he said calmly, "We're dealing with the OSI, a private group separated from the Britannian Army, their main priority is to capture a subordinate of mine by using me as bait. One proof of this is that my identity isn't common knowledge, because they don't share their information with the military," the girl just simply nodded and mutter a word of understanding. Once outside the elevator, the girl quickly checked the surroundings for any sign of enemies.

"All clear," she motioned to Lelouch to follow her, to which he did. It didn't took long for them to arrive in the main room.

With a shady blue ambience that only reeks of suspicion, Lelouch looked at the big blank screen laid out for the whole room to see, and wondered if his face had been the main entertainment source of Villetta and his goons. He then touched the surface of the meeting table that stretches far wide and occupies the middle of the place. He liked the design, it suits his tastes. A smile creeps up on his face as he sat on the boss chair. He decided then and there to claim the secret bunker as his own after dealing with his professional stalkers.

"That smile is so villainous," appearing in front of his sight, Lelouch found his reflection in the girl's vibrant violet eyes, "You should smile better, you're trying to create a better world for your sister, right?" she said while bent down on his sitting figure. She inched closer and placed her fingers on Lelouch's cheeks, doing what she deemed 'fixing' his smile. Obviously uncomfortable with his personal space taken, Lelouch could only look at the girl incredulously.

"What are you doing?" He said with a slurred voice as Annella just continued on playing with his cheeks. The girl on the other hand just blinked innocently in response.

"Helping you get a better smile, now try adding some teeth," she suggested before Lelouch stood up suddenly, breaking her hold to him.

"I wear a mask, I don't need to better my smile," he said as he turned around, hiding his embarrassment for her to see.

"Yes you do," she beamed, getting up from her position as well, "For starters, it'll help you whenever you look at a mirror."

Lelouch brought one hand into his face as he sighed dramatically. He hadn't expected her to be so… physical. He then thought that she might have gotten the wrong impression after he did 'that' to her earlier. Mind you that 'that' pertains to just a normal hug, Lelouch just hadn't recovered enough to use the word or anything that associates with it. Anyway because of that, he thought it was mostly his fault and just decided to bear with it. Though despite his resignation, he did felt it wasn't all bad, and when he reflected on why he doesn't feel bad on letting her touch his face, he became convince that he had become hysterical.

"You mind-" before he could complete his request to avoid future hysterics, a notice that someone opened the gate above appeared on one of the small telescreens beside the big screen.

"Hide," she pushed him into a small locker room embedded in the blue wall. Lelouch didn't had time to complain once the door was slammed on his face. There was three small openings for him to see outside, and he saw the girl preparing for an ambush attack to anyone who comes barging inside.

A minute later, Rolo's figure appeared, hasty and confused at the lack of people in the room. But before he could gather his bearings, a sudden flash of red appeared in his line of sight and he felt a series of blows in his body. Once he's become aware of the person attacking him, he already found himself pinned to the wall with her foot planted firmly on his neck, holding him slightly above ground.

Annella knowing the nature of Rolo's Geass made her cautious on how to subdue the boy. When she found him off-guard, she instinctively thought it was best to pin him onto the wall and asphyxiate him before he could use his Geass. Even if he did found a window of opportunity to use his Geass, the weakening effect it has on him wouldn't let him cast away from her chokehold. She also made sure to hold him slightly above ground, so that he can't gather strength on his lower body.

Lelouch couldn't help but be amaze when he saw the spectacle. No wasted movements, Rolo is still alive, and she made it so easy to subdue a Geass user. He was then convinced of her earlier claim that she's one of the finest soldiers there is. Coming out of the cramped room, he produce a laugh that took both of their attention. Annella just glanced at him before bringing her full attention to her captive. Rolo, stuck on the painful side of the situation was riddled with surprise when he saw Lelouch came out, the man behind Zero relishing on his shock. He just gurgled out his words when Lelouch walked towards them in a steady gait and expressing a big grin on his face. Suddenly the door opened, startling the three off of their tense atmosphere.

"Sorry about that, I slept through the warning alarms, but you'll understand since I was out on overtime last night, right boss?" opening his eyes, he was greeted by three teenagers looking at him as if he was the most ridiculous person to have existed in the face of the earth, "Eh? What's-" he didn't get to finish his question when the three started moving out of their shock.

Lelouch was the first, he pulled the gun that he was hiding behind his jacket and was about to aim it at the uninvited guest when he saw Rolo kicked the still inattentive Annella, breaking out of her hold. Nelly quickly held her balance, the kick wasn't strong but it was enough to push her away. She cursed under her breath, prompting the assassin to activate his Geass, putting everyone but him on a stasis.

"How troublesome," he quickly brought out the knife hidden on his right arm and was about to dispose of his target, when a voice broke him out of his concentration.

"Thank you, Rolo," at the mention of his name, he turned around and found the girl who had just handed him his ass, kicking the uninvited man's jaw with a force that would surely put him on his needed sleep once Rolo deactivates his Geass.

"How-" he was about to ask when he noticed the glowing blue orb acting as her earring. He was quickly glared at by the fiery red-head, and once he saw that, he turned around and ran towards his target. Before he could even inch closer to his purple eyed brother, a sudden force brought him kissing the cold ground. A pointed weight in his back made him unable to stand up, and when he looked at his attacker from behind, he swore on his lifeless existence that he saw the gleaming eyes of the devil.

Smiling in triumph to her prey, Annella brought out a roll of duct tape she hid on her pink pouch. Said pouch was hidden from the eye of her accomplice in order to avoid any sorts of suspicion. This former pouch knife was after all handed to her by her lovely mother, and when she considered the time frame, her mom must have the exact copy, albeit with a sharp knife glued in.

"You!" Lelouch yelled when he pointed his gun at nothing. He found the source of his shock knocked out with a big bruise on his jaw. He then looked at his accomplice and the struggling boy beneath her. She was kneeing the boy's back to pin him down, and the boy had his right eye, mouth, arms, and legs, duct taped. He looked at his gun and then back to the odd scenario before putting it back in his inner holster, "What just happened?" he asked in confusion. The girl looked up from her toy and smiled back at him.

"Mission accomplished."

* * *

"Hmm?" looking at the glowing sunset, C.C. felt a slight tinge in her skin as she let the pizza she's been devouring stay in her mouth for a second. Noticing her strange reaction on her cheesy junk food, Kallen felt the need to address it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, causing the girl to look at her and continued on her disturbed engulfing on the food she deemed the best invention of humanity, "I'm guessing it's not the food," she said after the girl swallowed the last vestige of her slice.

"I felt something… it was odd, I should write this on my journal," she said plainly. Her companion on the other hand raised her eye on the tidbit.

"You… you have a journal?"

"Yeah," she simply answered after bringing out a leather bound book with a pen on its side out of her clothes. The red haired girl just stared and from that moment she saw her immortal friend in a new light.

"Anyways, how do you think we should take what that Xingke guy just said?" she asked the immersive writer.

"We take it as it is, if Zero appears tomorrow and all goes well, we'll both benefit each other's side. Furthermore we wouldn't be able to save our friends without their help," she then put the pen on her chin, "Though it's highly likely that Zero will meet his demise at tomorrow's mess, so we should prepare just in case," she then saw the fiery girl stomped on the floor hard, she softly smiled at the expected reaction.

"That wouldn't happen!" her eyes raging above the seated witch. She couldn't help admiring the loyalty that she displays, "He'll find a way to come out on top, I'm sure of it," she said to C.C. and to herself.

"I'm sure he will," she comforted the worried girl, "Though considering the position he's in right now, it'll be preferable if he has someone by his side," Kallen looked at C.C. to figure out what she meant. The witch just solemnly smiled in response, "That boy can be so lonely and paranoid at times, he needs someone to constantly remind him that he's not alone in his war. I'm afraid he'll sacrifice himself grandiosely one day, because his mind tends to label himself as expendable," Kallen stayed silent before uttering a word of understanding.

She completely forgot about it on how he acted on the Tower of Babel, but he must be stressing himself into thinking about Nunnally. Without her, Lelouch might lost his resolve to continue on as Zero. And he's under constant supervision by another group of enemies. He might be the rock holding their group together, but what about him? Who's holding him together? She doesn't believe in any gods nor guardian spirits, but in the depths of her heart, she wishes someone is beside him right now, keeping him whole.

"So Kallen," C.C. started, pulling the red-head off her worried thoughts, "Want to be that someone?" she suggested and in response the girl just flushed as red as her hair.

* * *

"What do you think?" on another place at the same time, a red-head with similar features to the previous red-head placed the subdued boy on one of the chairs. Handing him out as some sort of offering to a demon god, Rolo felt extreme fear for the first time in his gray life.

Lelouch, the brother he had for the past year, looked at him with slight worry, not knowing how to react at the situation. Things had exceeded past Lelouch's expectations, and even with an uncalculated risk, things was still peachy thanks to his cheerful accomplice. Lelouch didn't know who to thank to have such fortune come his way, and because of that he felt that the luck he's been handed will somehow bite him in the ass one day. Still, he has to give credit to where it's due.

"Good job," he simply said, and there was a noticeable increase in cheerfulness from the girl. It felt like he was looking at a hyper energetic little girl running amok at a playground, but the girl in front of him was doing her best to contain her extreme energy when she decided to explore the room with a silent glee. Moving on to business, he took a chair to level with Rolo and then he removed the tape on his mouth.

"Lelouch, so you've truly regained your memory," Rolo said with a defeated smile, "But who the hell is that?!" he found himself asking loudly of what he felt is unfairness. He pointed his one eyed glare towards the carefree gal playing with the main computer's buttons. Lelouch didn't know how to answer his pretend brother's question, so he decided to skip pass it. He then wore a serious expression that surprised the subdued boy.

"Rolo, answer me one thing," the boy in question gulped, "What do you expect to happen after you've completed your mission to assassinate me?"

"How did you know?" he asked Lelouch, the tone he used as Rolo Lamperouge coming back to him.

"It's merely conjecture, you should know how clever I am by now, little brother," Lelouch said with a brotherly smile.

"I see…" he said, feeling hurt when he saw Lelouch's smile, because he knows it's a lie. Lelouch however did not intend for it come that way, he just got used on expressing himself like that when talking to the shorter boy, whether it's a lie or not, even the person expressing it is not sure.

"Have you ever thought of the future, Rolo?" he asked, earning the boy opposite to him his undivided attention, "We might not have been real brothers and Rolo Lamperouge might just be an alias, but the Lamperouge family tolerates such deceit, because those who inhabits that name is protected by lies."

"What are you talking about, Lelouch?" asked the confused boy.

"I'm talking about giving you a choice, Rolo," he said, silencing the assassin, "Join me in my cause and help me find Nunnally, or," he gestured by covering his left eye, "Be under the curse of my Geass for as long as I see fit," Rolo gulped at the coldness of his voice as his mention of using his Geass.

"What choice," he said, looking away from Lelouch, "Even now, I'm left with no choice," he said grimly. When he heard that, Lelouch's gaze soften at the vulnerable kid who fooled him and acted as his little brother.

"You might not like it, but you're already Rolo Lamperouge," he softly said, the kid turning back his gaze on him, "You've made memories not only with me, but with the people on the school too. You might not see it, but you already have a choice in the matter," when he heard the person he fooled say that, Rolo fought hard not to let the tears flow out of his free eye.

"I see," he said heavily, "Then I wouldn't mind being your brother for a while longer," Lelouch smiled in response as he started to tear off the tape on the boy's eye.

Annella watched her father and her fake uncle and thought about what Lelouch just said. Even though she believes on the kindness that her mom used to say he possessed, she hadn't expected him to do that. When she remembered the event in the journal, she tried to parallel the Lelouch who manipulated Rolo and to the Lelouch in front of her. Was he merely doing the same thing? Nelly doesn't know, but she can't help but feel like she's forgetting something.

"You better not use your Geass after I free you," the boy opposite to him chuckled softly in response.

"It wouldn't help either way," he said, prompting a quizzical look from Lelouch, "Well, that girl just freely moved from my ward of absolute suspension, though I guess it's no longer absolute," he stated, startling the two teens in front of him. One in surprise and the other in being busted.

"You're Geass isn't about teleporting?" Lelouch asked in surprise, he then turned around with a smile, but Nelly knew better that it was a phony smile masking his annoyance, "Annella, care to share with the class?" She let out a stifled laugh in response.

"Funny you mention that, I didn't know what happened as well, maybe I had my eyes closed when he activated his Geass," she spouted out, her heart beating fast because of the bullshit she just crafted.

"Huh? No, my Geass suspend any living being's subjective sense of time caught in my warded area, and I can control the size of the area. The only downside is that I can't suspend projectiles and my heart suffers a strain whenever I use it," Rolo explained innocently. Annella just wanted to sucker punch the guy right now.

"Is that so? Nicely explained Rolo," Lelouch pat the shorter boy's head, causing Rolo to blush slightly. He then stood up and faced the girl, expressing the same phony smile from earlier, "Now, how do you explain your immunity from it, Nelly?" Annella was positively surprised when she got called by her nickname, but because of that she can't help feeling like a little girl in front of Lelouch.

"Umm…" she tried racking her brain out for a reasonable lie, but considering the person she plans on lying to, the standard hurdle is too high to overcome. Dejected, she gave up on trying to find an excuse. She removed her earring to show it to Lelouch and Rolo, "It's because of this, it's a Geass Canceller," both Geass users were shocked of the existence of such a thing.

"Where did you get that?" Lelouch asked as she put the earring back on, his humorous tone replaced with a serious one. Expecting the question, Annella just steeled her jaw.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you," Lelouch, used to her keeping secrets, was ready to drop it off before Rolo perked up.

"Are you from the Geass Order?" both Lelouch and Annella just looked at him curiously, "It's where I came from, they're a group dedicated on studying Geass and creating Geass users. It makes sense, brother. It's not that odd to think that they managed to craft an Anti-Geass earring after years of research," he accused the girl from his seat. Annella's animosity to the boy grew and now she wants to bash open his skull for the false accusation. The boy stifled at seeing her glare once more, but he gathered the courage to fight it off.

Lelouch looked at his brother and struggled at the information he gave. He only planned to learn more about Nunnally's whereabouts and ease his way through tomorrow's ordeal, but now here he is, getting involved to something else again. He kind of hates Rolo for springing this up all of a sudden, but he can't deny the importance of what he just said.

He looked at the girl and thought about Rolo's accusation. It's a hasty one, but he does have a point. Where else can you get something that voids Geass magic other than a group who spent years on studying it? There's still the possibility that it came from an unknown party, but still, Geass Canceller…

"What a stupid name," he muttered under his breath. The two people locked in a glaring contest quit momentarily to look at Lelouch. Lelouch noticing their stares, just blinked and sighed in response, "Let's go, we spent too much time here already," he then proceeded on removing Rolo's restraints.

"What about what I just said, big brother?" Rolo asked, his face dumbfounded.

"It's big, I have to admit, but you're making a hasty accusation," he said as he cut away the tape on his arms, "She already pledged her loyalty to me, no need to worry where her intentions lie," behind him, the girl stood dumb struck, feeling happy from what she just heard. Lelouch stood up and rubbed his temple after helping Rolo cut off the duct tape on his legs.

Inside his head, another heated discussion was going on. He tried to mute it, but it proved to be impossible, so he just decided to ignore it. He's a little overwhelmed at the gravity of information he's been getting today. He thought it was good to know things as fast as possible, but he realized he could use additional days to get his head wrapped around all the stuff revolving around him. He needs to sort them through, so that he can throw away the shit he didn't need to think about.

"What should we do with him," Nelly said, pointing at the man she kicked to concussion.

"Should I take care of him?" Rolo picked up his knife on the ground and was about to act on his bloodlust before being smacked on the head by Lelouch.

"Calm down, having a dead body or a missing person will just increase suspicions against me," Lelouch slightly rubbed the fist he used, "Just put him on his sleeping quarters. When he wakes up and he remembers everything that happened, tell him it's just a dream. If that doesn't work, call me, I'll use my Geass on him," the shorter boy just nodded as he rubbed the part of his head that got hit.

"So what do you plan to do with the other members?" the girl asked from behind.

"I plan to use my Geass on them eventually, preferably after dealing with tomorrow's event, I just need to find something to subdue Villetta with, I've already used my Geass on her," he answered, helping Rolo pick up the unconscious man.

"She mentioned that before," putting the man's arm around his neck, he gestured Lelouch that he got it, "She's still pissed at you for stealing her Knightmare," they all stepped out when the door opened.

"That woman needs to learn to let go," he scoffed, resulting a chuckle from the shorter assassin, "What are you planning, Rolo?"

"I'll stay here for a while, I need to get rid of any traces of you two being here," he said.

"Very well, I'll be seeing you at home, little brother," Lelouch said, causing a smile to form on the boy's face as he energetically carried the man to his quarters.

"You'll be a good father, you know that?" the girl commented once they stepped inside the elevator.

"Where did that came from?" he asked with a curious glance.

"I dunno, intuition maybe?" she shrugged her shoulders, causing nothing but questions on the revolutionary's face as the elevator starts to ascend.

* * *

I'm in a writing spree at the moment so I'll stop announcing updates and just post a new chapter whenever I feel like.

To those wondering if Lelouch is acting a bit too soft, let me defend why I see him acting this way. On the series, most of the drastic decisions Lelouch made happened because he was pushed on to the corner, or left alone to wallow in his misery, or sometimes both. One of the point of this fic is to see how he'll act if he has someone by his side capable of pulling him out of danger and be there to lighten his sorrows, giving him time to calmly and properly think things through.

Fallen Ryu - You've just brought an interesting scenario on my head regarding C.C..

Swoob - Really? It does that? Guess that would explain Shirley's eyes being covered with red when Lelouch used his Geass on her a second time... I'll just address it later in the story.

Thanks for the reviews, and as always, feel free to lay out your thoughts about this chapter.


	5. Chapter 4

5:47 AM. The clock reads as follows when Lelouch stared at it for a second. Waking especially early for this day, Lelouch stepped out of his room and was greeted by his foster brother. He was already clothed with his uniform. With a grin, he greeted Lelouch a good morning, to which the droopy eyed teenager returned back.

"You're ready already?" Lelouch commented, "I'm guessing you won't be pretending as my frail brother anymore?" he glanced up to the weak-looking boy. He smiled in response and brought up his coffee as a toast for that, "You'll never be an actor of my level if you suddenly gave up."

"I don't want to be an actor of your level, brother," he said as he looked at the locket hanging on his phone and smiled at the memory of his first birthday, "That's the reason why I joined you, to lose the need to play make-believe."

"I see," Lelouch smiled, content at his answer.

After a quiet breakfast, the two were visited by a redhead bustling with energy.

"Morning you two," she hailed, "Finished with breakfast?" she noticed the empty plates on the table, "Good, time for a walk," she said, followed by a nod from the two.

"Rolo, make sure no one's listening on us while we're talking," he said to the shorter boy while putting on his black jacket, "Notify me if someone's following us, I'll immediately put them under my Geass."

"I will. Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"We'll make a stop to where I hid my armor, we'll also discuss strategies there," he then looked at the girl playing with her ponytail while scanning their house, "Let's go."

Skipping classes and marching through the empty hallways, the group of three quietly made their way to the school's clinic. There they lay witness to the intense romance of the school's doctor and second nurse. Nelly reddened in surprise, Rolo stood flabbergasted, and Lelouch just sighed.

"We don't have time for this," he used his Geass on them without a second thought. He ordered them to evacuate the clinic for the rest of the day and continue their lovemaking in a hotel. Nelly commented on his generosity, and Lelouch just stared at her before deciding to just take the compliment.

Pulling the white board on the corner, he placed it in front of the two who take it upon themselves to sit patiently as students, with Lelouch acting as the teacher. He pulled the marker's cap off and started on his lesson on Rebellion 101.

"The execution will happen at 2:00 in the afternoon, but we'll be arriving there three hours early to prepare conditions for success, giving us…" he looked at his watch, it read 7:31, "about three hours to discuss our strategy," they both nodded in response. Lelouch then drew the landscape of the area of event, the art was basic and simple.

"If you can lure four-eyes out of his Knightmare, you can just use your Geass on him for an easy win," Annella said, pointing at the stickman representing Guilford. Lelouch chuckled at the suggestion.

"I've thought about it, but the chances of that happening is close to nil, that's why…" he then wrote a stickman wearing Zero's mask in front of the glasses stickman, "I'll be accepting his challenge," his two students just looked at him as if he'd gone crazy.

"I mean no offense, brother, but I don't think you're capable of winning against him on a straightforward fight," he said with worry, "There's also the case of finding a Knightmare capable on fighting his."

"I have a Knightmare hidden to use in this scenario," he smirked, "And don't worry, I won't be fighting him," the younger boy blinked twice, wondering about what he meant, "Instead, I'll be using their foothold against them," the assassin's purple eyes perked up, it shone as he figured it out.

"The same as what happened in the Black Rebellion," Lelouch smiled when he saw the brilliance of his strategy from his brother's eyes.

"Correct, and in order to do that, I'll be putting a fellow from the control room under my Geass," he then put his gaze towards Annella, "I'm assuming you can pilot a Knightmare?" the girl smiled in return.

"Of course, I learned from the best," Lelouch pondered on who that was and thought of wanting that person in his army. He decided on asking that person's contact information from her later.

"Good, you'll be using an enemy Knightmare stationed to snipe me. If my guesses are correct, he'll be placed here," he drew another stickman atop a corner of a building, "We'll be disguised as Britannian soldiers to get close, once I put him under my spell, you'll be in position."

"Question," the redhead raised her hand, Lelouch nodded for her to continue, "What if someone ask me for a status report, I'm sure they'll notice my voice right away."

"That's where Rolo's little device will help," Rolo reached out for his pocket and handed Annella a small and slender white device.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's a voice changer," the girl's eyes shimmered with delight as she head the answer, "You can copy another person's voice by piercing the needle…" he pulled the device slightly and it revealed a sharp nail-like pin, "At their neck. It has a powerful anesthetic that can make grown men sleep for hours, so be careful, there's a lot of reports of people accidentally pricking themselves," the girl didn't listen to his warning and just cooed at the new toy she got.

"I can't wait to steal someone's voice," she said with a glee, which made Lelouch somewhat worried.

"I know the feeling," Rolo said, surprising Lelouch, "Hearing yourself in a different voice is always a fun experience," Lelouch inwardly groaned at their found similarities. They continued on telling each other the people they wanted to hit in the neck with the little device before Lelouch shushed them to attention.

"Rolo, I'll be needing you inside the Vincent you commandeered the other day," he said sternly to the boy. He doesn't know why, but he felt a bit irritated at seeing Annella happily talking about her sociopathic tendencies with his sociopath of a brother, "You'll be on the enemies' position at the start. Meaning you'll be affected by the change of terrain, but I'm sure the Vincent is mobile enough to escape under those circumstances," Rolo nodded with a trusting smile, "I need you to provide support in case something unexpected happen," Nelly raised her hand again for another question.

"What do you expect to happen?"

"Good question, I've calculated a hundred scenarios that are likely to happen," his two students just went wide-eyed in shock, "Relax, since we're pressed for time, I've chose ten scenarios that has the highest probabilities," the two shared a sigh of relief before being bombarded by another of Lelouch's paranoid preparations, "Now, I need you two to memorize the major details of those likely scenarios, and if we hurry up, we can squeeze another ten," he said with a wide smirk, clearly enjoying these part of the battle. The two shared a look of disbelief before groaning in defeat.

* * *

Stuck in standby for the last hour inside a stolen Gloucester, Nelly couldn't help but yawn out of boredom. Whatever tenseness she felt when boarding the Knightmare earlier faded as her dad made her review the details of the scenarios that are likely to happen. Annella could appreciate strategy and preparedness, but she had not expected Lelouch to be so… paranoid. Grimacing her head as she reviews scenario 8, she thought of calling out Lelouch on his excessiveness, but thought twice on bringing it out since theatrics and excessiveness is what he uses to be an effective and charismatic leader.

That paranoid Zero is, after all, the person she deeply admires. As a child in a war-torn country, she grew up having to constantly listen to the stories of Zero. Most of the time, the stories tend to depict him as the villain, only caring for himself and nothing else. But when her mother tells her version of the story, she can't help but idolize the man behind the mask. She wounded up watching his heroics at the Black Knight's forbidden archives one day, and she still remembers the excitement she felt when she watched his speech on Lake Kawaguchi.

" _He's a Dark Knight. He's not a bad guy, he just likes to angst and be mysterious,"_ she chuckled at the thought. When she was ten, she started to mimic Zero's theatrics. Her mom called her out of it, and told her it's dangerous to parade around and publicly declare herself as future Zero. She laughed and brushed the warning off after seeing her mom tearfully smile when she saw her wearing a cape similar to his. But she was right, she got into a lot of trouble by declaring to everyone who badmouths Zero that he's just misunderstood. She once punched her uncle Ohgi when he said that the man beneath Zero's mask was a monster, and boy did she get an earful for that. It took about a month and lots of sweets for her to put her uncle back to her good books.

Her mother always feels troubled whenever she chastised her for her adoration for Zero. It's like she's happy and sad at the same time, Annella at the time couldn't figure out the conflicting emotions raging inside her mother, so she put a stop on punching others when she saw how distraught she was. She didn't stop researching and mimicking Zero, she just didn't show it for others to see.

When she turned fifteen, her mom gave her the most amazing gift that she could ever ask for. She told her the identity of her father. Before, Nelly couldn't care less about her father, her mom used to say he was one of the many casualties of war, so she just left it at that. She didn't harbor any grudge or longing, after all, he's already dead. But when she found out that Zero, or rather the Demon Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia was her father, she almost fainted from shock. She was so happy, and from that day on, everything made sense to her. Her admiration for the man wasn't unfounded, rather it was natural, 'it was meant to be,' she used to say to her mom. That was also the day her mom gave her the locket she always kept around her neck.

She brought out the locket hidden inside her soldier uniform and examined the picture inside it. She closed it with a smile and hid it again. Right now, she doesn't need a picture to remind her of his face, she just needs to call and she can see him talk.

Right now, however, she has to put that aside. Zero had specifically told them not to start any communication in the Knightmares, since it runs the risk of being heard. But she can deal with that now, since there's only half an hour left before things starts to get fun. So she snapped out of her daydream and readied herself. The guy she stole the Gloucester from is heavily asleep and is hidden inside a locker room, so she wouldn't need to worry about him. The only thing troubling her right now is status reports. Using the device Rolo gave her was a lot harder than she thought, she have to be careful not to let her voice mix with the modulator.

"David, status report, the execution is about ready," said by an unknown raspy voice.

"David here, everything's fine, I'm good to shoot," she said in David's voice. She just found out his name earlier from the first status report.

"Heh, you seem excited," the voice said, "Can't blame you, today we'll be able to avenge our father's death," Annella was a bit taken by the anger behind the voice. She just agreed with him, before the com link turned off for her to be troubled with her thoughts.

 _"Father… it's no surprise. Zero had already soaked his hands with the blood of many, and some of those are fathers who were robbed off from their families,"_ she thought solemnly because she knows if she were to accompany her dad to his path, more blood will be spilled. She gulped and remove the negative thoughts off of her mind, she doesn't have the time to be distracted. If she's not attentive, she could lose her father in a blink of an eye, _"I'm a soldier and the daughter of Zero, anyone who tries to mess with my family will perish,"_ she chanted in her mind.

* * *

Rolo had not expected this. For the second time, he was once again being choked off his breath. He planned on stealing the man's identity, but when he pierced the soldier with the needle, he instantly turned around, ignoring the pain he felt. The soldier caught his arm and because of the man's thicker frame, he easily subdued Rolo and put him into a chokehold with his right hand. Rolo was astounded, not only did the anesthetic didn't seem to work on the blond soldier, but the strength behind his grip made Rolo felt his neck could easily snap like a twig. The man, however, stopped short into killing him.

Feeling his consciousness fading, Rolo looked at the man holding him. He saw the anger and madness in his eyes, it felt like he wasn't thinking straight. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps made Rolo glanced at the direction where it came from. His groggy vision failed to identify the person approaching him, but his ears liven with whatever strength he has left as the person starts to talk.

"Sorry about the rough treatment, I know you want to kill Zero, but you'll fail, I'm sure of it," the voice said cheerfully. Rolo couldn't identify the gender of the voice. He thought it was feminine at first, but the roughness and deepness of the person's tone, made Rolo unsure, "Don't worry though, once I killed him, I'll give you all the credit."

 _"Kill… Zero? Brother… is in… danger!"_ he struggled over the soldier's hold and kicked the heel of his right shoe, revealing a sharp dagger. He then aimed his kick towards the man's neck. He felt his blade connect, and a second later he heard the splash of blood. But the soldier's chokehold was still unfaltering. Confused, he opened his eyes for the last time and saw the man blocking his hidden knife with the palm of his hand. Seconds later, he felt his consciousness leaving as his sight fades away.

"You idiot! Don't kill him, it'll mess up the script, put him down now!" after receiving the order, the soldier did as he's told and let the assassin's body fall down in its own accord. The mysterious individual hastily checked his pulse, and then released a sigh of relief after knowing he was still alive. The person quickly turned around and looked at the soldier, "Look at what you did! Now I can't use my Geass on him… ugh this is why puppets are so…" the person screeched and stomped on the floor in frustration, "Go to your Knightmare. Remember, kill Zero once he messes up the place. You'll have the perfect opportunity to attack him when he's running away towards the Chinese Consulate. Be sure to avoid or destroy the projectile aimed at you when you're chasing him," the soldier then saluted.

"Yes, your majesty!" he roared.

"Alright, alright. Go now will you, I don't like that formality crap," the blond man did as he's told and went to his destination, "Good grief," the individual looked at the unconscious boy in the floor and smiled, "Your faith in him will kill you, ya know that? Don't fret though, since Lelouch will now be punished for his sins in the past… and the future."

* * *

"Stop!" Lelouch yelled. He had just arrived in the area settlement with his hidden Knightmare. It was a customized Burai with a red head module and golden horns, fitting for a leader of the Black Knights. However it's worn down and had its left arm module replaced with a Sutherland's violet arm, it'll most likely be put into the junkyard after dealing with their current debacle. He stood outside his Knightmare with his mask and cape portraying his valor, "You're wrong Guilford," he stated in his com for everyone to hear.

"So you've come, Zero!" the acting viceroy turned his Knightmare around in haste.

"Guilford, those you held captives aren't terrorists, they're the Black Knights!" the Japanese people surrounding Lelouch's Knightmare cheered as they made a path for their hero, "They're soldiers of the army of the United States of Japan."

"Do you expect me to recognize them as prisoners of war?" Guilford tensed, "Then executing them is merely an act of courtesy, your army had already lost during the Black Rebellion."

Lelouch knows that he's playing this one close to the neck. With the amount of enemies surrounding him and his defenseless comrades, this might be the toughest situation he's been put in. But it's on these situations that Zero shines. Steering his Knightmare confidently towards the settlement, he called out to the acting leader of the enemies.

"It's been a while, Lord Guilford, why don't you come out so that we can talk about the good old days," the man behind the customized Gloucester scoffed. His Knightmare is easy to distinguish because of the brighter color scheme it had. It stood there holding an equally large and intimidating lance.

"I have no fond memories to discuss with you, Zero, so I'll just stay where I am. Though I'm more than happy to oblige in settling our past grudges with our Knightmares."

 _"There goes Annella's suggestion,"_ he thought with a smirk. He glanced over past Guilford's Knightmare and found the yellow-coated Vincent, _"Good, Rolo's in position."_

"How predictable," he provoked. He went inside his Knightmare after expecting his poor excuse for negotiation failed, "But before that, let's set some rules for our duel," once inside, he removed his mask, "We'll settle this one on one," he stated with arrogance, causing some of Guilford's subordinates to tense up and ready their weapons.

"Very well, no one else will interfere," and with a wave of hand, his subordinates lowered their weapons. Lelouch counted one Vincent, two Knightmare police, five Gloucesters including Guilford's, and five Sutherlands all aiming their guns at him. The other Gloucester is atop the nearby building, but he doesn't have to worry about that, since he's accomplice is piloting it. The same goes for the Vincent. Best case scenario, he wouldn't be needing their support if all goes well. He received a notification from Q-1 earlier that they're ready to go on his orders.

 _"Now, let's see what I can use,"_ Lelouch surveyed the Knightmares surrounding him and smirked when he saw the big riot shield held by the Knightmare police, _"That, I can use that."_

"We'll each have one weapon," Lelouch laid out.

"Agreed," Guilford smirked at the idea and quickly threw away his Knightmare's submachine gun to display his efficiency with the Lance. He hopes to intimidate the masked man with his brief dance with the Lance, "I choose this as my weapon."

If Zero was aiming for a fight, then Guilford's act might have made Lelouch worried. But because the man who suggested a one on one doesn't intend to fight at all, he couldn't care less of his display of bravado. His eyes are more focused on the landscape of the area. He was measuring the distance between the settlement and the Chinese Consulate.

Guilford is correct in assuming that doing his stunt near the area will force the Black Knight's hands. However, he considerably underestimated the mask holding them together. It could be that he's suspicious whether the man behind the mask is the original Zero, but because of that, he failed to consider the true strength of the man of miracles.

"For mine, I'll be borrowing that shield," Lelouch could feel the roaring surprise in the area. The Knightmare police hesitated to give his shield, but he did so after Guilford commanded him, "This will do," he brought the shield to ready.

The whole area tensed as they waited for the two to duke it out, but before Guilford could even think of charging ahead, Zero spoke once again.

"I have a question for you, Lord Guilford," the enemy Knightmare halted on its advance, "What do you do when there's an evil you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?"

"As the Knight of Princess Cornelia," he pointed his lance at Zero, "I choose justice!" and charged on with the intention of piercing through Zero's audacity.

"I see, in my case, I choose evil to destroy the greater evil!"

As if on cue, the earth began to shake. The Britannia's foothold began to rise and it continued to elevate until it started to slant. The people watching immediately evacuated the area in a panic. It threw Guilford and his troops of heavy armored Knightmares into disarray as they started falling one by one. Guilford and his Gloucester crew managed to take hold of their falling Knightmares by releasing their slash harkens and aiming it at the tilted pavement.

"Q-1 charge in and take command, saving our comrades takes top priority!" he ordered his ace after opening his com links, and with a resounding echo of her 'roger,' Lelouch took it upon himself to get to safety.

Lelouch dived in and used the shield as some sort of makeshift skateboard for his Burai. He used the thick cable of Guilford's Gloucester as a slide to jump pass the knight. He was then shot at by another Gloucester from below, but his shield board blocked all the incoming fire. It suddenly stopped when Lelouch heard an explosion below him. Ignoring the noise of the ensuing chaos, Zero opened his Knightmare's speakers when its feet touched the ground, the shield tearing to pieces in the process.

"Black Knights! The enemy around me has fallen to our territory, wipe out the Britannian forces and save your allies!" all the stationed Black Knights outside the Consulate followed his command, and Lelouch just let the smile on his face form as his Knightmare sped towards their territory. He was then disturbed by the vibrating noise of his cellphone. When he put it in his ear, he heard the distressed voice of his foster brother.

"Lelouch, someone else is piloting the Vincent!" Lelouch felt his sweat run cold when the yellow Knightmare appeared out of the smoke behind him, "They're after you!" Lelouch threw his cell in a panic when the Vincent fired of its slash harken. He managed to avoid one, but his Sutherland arm was struck by the other.

* * *

"Brother! Damn," closing Lelouch's contact, Rolo quickly called Annella.

"Rolo, what the hell? Why-" Rolo then interrupted her before she can continue.

"I'm not in the Vincent…" he paused for a second to rack his memories about, "Scenario 10!" he yelled out over the phone.

* * *

"Scenario 10!" she heard loudly. She hastily took arms and pointed the large sniper cannon towards the battlefield. With a locked aim, she fired it off towards the rogue Vincent. The sound of the blast reverberated slightly inside the Knightmare's cockpit.

The projectile was on its trajectory to destroy the yellow Knightmare, but to the surprise of both Annella and Lelouch, the Vincent ejected its right arm and threw it on the large bullet, changing its trajectory in front of Lelouch. He managed to avoid getting hit, but the pilot of the Vincent expected that and fired off its remaining harken towards the Burai's only arm, tearing it off.

"Damn it, how did that… it's like he anticipated that," snapping out of her shock, she prepared to shoot again before someone called in the communications.

"David, stop firing! They're already in the Chinese territory," pissed at the voice, Nelly couldn't help but voice out her annoyance.

"There's no David here, Bucko!" she then slammed the communications shut. She instantly regretted the decision when two Sutherlands started to make their way in her position. Since she'll most likely be caught after reloading the sniper cannon, she threw the weapon on the oncoming enemies. She then started to rush towards the battlefield after picking up the Lance near her, "Dad, I'm coming for you."

* * *

Having both his Knightmare's arms taken out, Lelouch only had the choice of running away. But because of the superior mobility of the Vincent, even that seemed foolhardy. After a few seconds he can already feel its metallic presence behind him. It used its mobile legs and tripped the Burai. Lelouch looked at his inevitable killer and gritted his teeth. To think he would fall here, it may be arrogant, but he had not expected his demise today. He prepared himself on what's coming before a yellow sharp lance pierced the Vincent's cockpit, putting it to a stop, and after a few seconds, the Vincent fell.

Lelouch looked at his savior and saw the Gloucester with its arms jutted out after throwing the spear. It just stood there for a while, shocked and relieved that she managed to make it in time. Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief after everything started to calm down. He heard his cellphone vibrate again, and when he reached out to take it, his brother's voice seemed awfully chipper.

"Here's brother, Coach Villetta," Rolo said over the phone, "Why don't you talk to her, Lelouch?" hearing that, Zero quickly reverted back to Lelouch Lamperouge.

"Hey Miss Villetta, is this about me skipping class again? Sorry for bringing Rolo, I insisted on him to accompany me to watch that new horror movie. It's really great," he said in his student façade.

"Is that so…" Villetta's unsure voice echoed over the phone.

"Yes, you should go on a date and watch that movie."

"Alright I will, though I expect to see your face tomorrow in class."

"Thank you for your leniency, teacher," and with that, the call was cut off. Lelouch laid his head to rest in the cockpit for a moment when the voice of the Chinese Military Commander ringed across the area. It put a stop on any pursuing Britannians and Lelouch smiled to his hard earned victory.

His moment of peace was only disturbed when Kallen's Guren appeared in front of him. Shielding him from the Gloucester who saved his hide.

"Identify yourself," he heard Kallen over her speakers. He tried to open his speakers, but it was broken. He then swiftly put his mask back on before leaving the cockpit of his worn down Burai.

"Q-1, the person piloting that Knightmare is an ally!" he yelled from below. The red Knightmare turned around and seemed to nod before kneeling to pick him up.

"You in the Gloucester," Kallen spoke up, "Follow me and take that Vincent with you," Annella did as she's told, her heart raising from hearing her young mother's voice. She picked the Vincent by its legs, and dragged it on the ground. The cockpit broke off, revealing a grotesque corpse inside. Though Nelly just ignored it and moved forward.

 _"Mom, you're finally here,"_ she couldn't keep her excitement down as she squealed silently inside the Knightmare, _"I can't wait for our family reunion."_

* * *

 _"So you survived… how unexpected,"_ the mysterious individual from earlier gritted their teeth in mock frustration. Hidden in the middle of a flock of Japanese civilians celebrating Zero's success, the individual couldn't help but storm away, _"Not to worry, I have plenty more chances to end his sinful life. Just you wait, Lelouch."_

* * *

The Chinese Consulate was greeted with an eventful sunset. The place was littered with members of the Black Knights, all celebrating the return of their comrades. Some merrily jumped and embraced their friends and others just stood with a laugh in their face, fully appreciating the fact that they are still alive.

"You guys, I'm glad you're all safe," wiping the tears that are begging to fall down her cheeks, Kallen happily welcomes back her imprisoned allies.

"It's thanks to you, Kōzuki," Kyoshiro Tohdoh said with his gruff voice. Behind the stern-eyed general are the three remaining holy swords. All expressing a smile of gratitude to the redhead ace.

"Kallen, do you know the person piloting that Knightmare?" approaching her from behind, Kaname Ohgi pointed at the violet Knightmare which was originally an enemy unit. Kallen in response shook her head.

"I don't, but whoever's in it saved Zero's life," she looked at the Gloucester which is being surrounded by a lot of curious Black Knight's members, "Also, Zero did told me that the pilot is an ally."

Annella is troubled. She wanted to get out and just hug her clueless mom, but the attention she's getting from the Black Knights is making her hesitate to come out.

 _"There's also my appearance to consider,"_ she looked through the eye of her Knightmare and found the person she's looking for staring at her armored vehicle, _"Mother, why do we look so much alike?"_

She has a picture of her mom during her teenage years, and whenever she looks at it, she always feels like she's looking at a picture of herself. The only noticeable differences that she can think of is the color of their irises and length of hair. She likes the fact that she's basically just a carbon copy of her mom in her late teens, after all, she's incredibly beautiful. But her current situation makes her genetic grace troubling. She had let her hair down earlier when she put on the Britannian headgear, though she immediately threw the headgear away once she boarded the Knightmare. She slightly regrets the decision, since she has no way of hiding her face.

" _Maybe I can pretend to be her long lost twin sister… no, that setting seems so cumbersome,"_ Her eyes was then magnetized to the lime haired girl that approached her mother, _"C.C. she didn't change much,"_ she thought when she compared the witch she's looking at to the witch she talked to before… or in the future.

"It's Zero!" yelled by one member. She looked the place he's pointing at and found her father clothed with his Zero armor. She saw the people beneath him run off to approach the mask figure. Not wasting this chance to avoid unneeded attention, she quietly slid down the stolen Knightmare and run in to hiding.

"Is that Kallen?" Shinichirō Tamaki wondered when he looked at the redhead running off to who knows where, "Why is she wearing a Britannian uniform? And did she grew her hair out?"

"Hey, Tamaki," Kento Sugiyama called out his friend, "What are you doing standing around like that, their handing out our uniforms."

"I just saw Kallen ran off somewhere, her hair sure is longer from the last I saw it," he said. The teal haired man just raised his eyebrow in return.

"What are you talking about? Kallen's right over there," he pointed at the redhead. She saw the two talking and walked towards them.

"Hey, Tamaki, I'm glad you're ok too," she said with a smile. Tamaki, however, just looked back in forth in confusion, earning him a curious glare from the two, "What's wrong with him?" she asked the sane man.

"I don't know, he said he saw you running off somewhere, and that you had longer hair," Sugiyama shrugged.

"Did he get hit in the head or something?" she pointed out, which earned a chuckle from the man.

* * *

After convincing Tamaki that he was just seeing things, Kallen took a picture of the Vincent and sent it to their chief engineer. She received a call later from said engineer, stating that she can and will, and that she has a surprise for Kallen's Guren. Happy with the news, Kallen bounced off towards the briefing room to report to her leader, and probably ask some questions. She went inside and found Lelouch deep in thought while sitting behind the desk laid out on the far side of the room.

"Hey, Zero," Lelouch tensed for a moment, but when he saw the bright flaming hair of their ace pilot, he casually put down his mask, "Rakshata called, she said she can fix the Vincent."

"Oh, that's good," he plainly said, visibly has his head on other matters. Kallen just looked at their raven-haired leader and wondered what he's thinking about.

He just received a call from Rolo regarding on what happened to him. Rolo mentioned that he felt that his attacker, the one piloting the Vincent earlier, was hypnotized… or rather, under the influence of Geass. He thought of Mao and his father, other than him, he only knows of three other Geass users, with one of them being dead. His train of thoughts then led him to what Rolo said yesterday. The Geass Order.

 _"Are they involved with what happened earlier?"_ he can only ask, _"I should ask that witch later."_

"You should sit down, Kallen," C.C. said, surprising the redhead, "That," she pointed at the thinking Lelouch, "Will probably take a while."

"Where did you came from?" she asked as she took her seat.

"I was already here," she answered.

"You've got to stop doing that," the yellow eyed girl just stared at her in response, "Do you have any idea what he's thinking about?"

"No, he thinks too much, it's impossible to get hold of his thoughts unless you're a mind reader," she then smiled after remembering a rather sad memory, "Though I guess mind readers are his natural enemies, as he is to them…" she whispered to herself.

The sudden opening of the door took the three's attention. Lelouch quickly took his mask and put it on.

"Hey, Zero, you here? Mind hiding me for a while?" Lelouch looked at the glass wall and noticed the familiar red hair, "I don't really like attention-" she was put to stop in her sentence when she looked at the person she's trying to avoid in the meantime.

"Who are you?!" Kallen stood up, glaring at the girl as she examines her, her Britannian soldier uniform is not easing her wariness. Though the more she looks at the girl, an odd sense of familiarity threatened to overtake her caution, "What are you doing?" she asked when the girl started to hide her face with her hair.

"Nothing, what are you doing?" Annella asked, not knowing why she said that.

"Huh? What are you…? Hey, look at people when they're talking to you," Kallen called out. The girl tensed up, not knowing what to do. Her hands completely covering her face.

 _"This feeling is so familiar, who would have thought mom would scold me the first time she meets me. Some things never change,"_ she thought with a hidden smile.

"Lower your hostilities, Kallen. She's the one who saved me," Lelouch said as he removed his mask. Kallen turned around in surprise as she sees Lelouch without his mask on. Annella took this chance and hastily combed her hair with her fingers, hoping that a fringe will suffice to absolve her from any suspicions.

"Le-Zero, what are you doing?" Kallen asked in a panic. Lelouch's calm expression somewhat ease her worries.

"She knows who I am, there's no need to worry," C.C. who had stayed quiet in the whole exchange raised her eyes in interest.

"Who is she?" Kallen asked, a slight bit of rage leaking from her sky blue eyes.

"She's…" Lelouch thought for a moment, "An ally I met along the way…" he said, unsure of what he meant. Both C.C. and Kallen squinted their eyes in protest. Before they could voice out their questions, a soft ahem made the two look back.

"Private Nelly, reporting for duty!" she said with a salute. It was received with three incredulous stares, "Huh, I thought I'd get better reception from that," she put a thumb on her chin questioningly.

"Who?" the immortal witch chirped back as the new girl took her interest.

"Annella Corabelle," C.C. looked at the new redhead strangely.

 _"Corabelle… what an odd coincidence,"_ she thought solemnly.

"Anyways, enough about me," she clapped with a cheery smile, "You're Kallen Kōzuki, right? It's an honor to meet you," she clasped the unsuspecting girl's hand and inched closer, "Zero sure knows how to pick his Queen," Kallen's cheeks turned red at the mention of it, and Lelouch's elbow slipped, causing his head, using it as support, to accidentally hit the desk.

"W-What are you talking about?" said the flustered redhead.

"Am I misinterpreting something?" Annella asked with innocent eyes, "He calls you Q-1, right? And in chess terms, that means Queen," she then put a finger on her chin and slyly smiled as she checks out the blushing girl from top to bottom, "Though that does beg the question, are you his Queen in battle only? Or does it extend privately?"

"That… What…" unable to gather her bearings, Kallen ran towards the exit, "I'm out!" she yelled.

"I did not expect her to be the shy type," Annella said to herself after watching her mother flee.

"You," the slightly shorter girl stood up and approached the new redhead, "I think we're gonna get along very well," she offered her hand for a handshake to which Annella returned.

"Same here," she said cheerfully.

Lelouch just groaned with worry as he lay witness of the newly formed dangerous duo before him.

* * *

Alright, done with that. Tell me what you think. I'm especially curious if the straight lines worked its intended purpose or it just hanged there like unneeded pleasantries.

Next chapter will probably be a tale of Annella's past in the future... Fuck, I don't know how to phrase that. I'm still thinking of a punchline so it'll probably take a while. Punchlines are the most important thing in extra chapters in my opinion.


	6. Tales from the Future (1)

Spooked and lost in a declared haunted forest, a 10 year old girl is on the verge of crying her eyes out. She wore a plain orange shirt and green shorts. She continued on small steps on her sandals, constantly looking around to find the path that led her there. But because of her panicked state, all she could see is a maze filled with leaves and wood. She cries softly every time she hears an odd noise she can't identify.

All of a sudden, the sound of a fierce animal surrounded her ear. She ran decisively, tears falling down her cheeks as her red hair flashes through the forest. She turned around and saw an enormous wild boar chasing after her. It roared at her, causing her to trip on her own two feet. She rolled painfully through the cold soil full of thorns and sharp sticks. She only stopped when she crashed softly at a huge tree, only to find herself cornered by the boar. She screamed for help, she screamed for her mother. Her loud cries echoed through the forest, but the boar slowly stride in her cowering figure, its eyes filled with animalistic hunger.

Before the boar can chomp on the small girl's flesh and bone, a sudden rustle of the leaves made it cautious of its surroundings. A second later, a kick in its face sent the boar flying. The girl, wide-eyed with fear and shock looked at her savior and saw a tall muscular man.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" the gentleness of his voice contradicts his rough demeanor. She was relieved of her fear and panic, and when it all left her body, she fainted softly on the ground.

* * *

Waking up, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The smell of cooked meat spread across her nose, causing her to lift up her body. She blinked twice as she absorbs the sight of the strange hut. She looked down and saw her arms and legs bandaged up.

"You're awake," the girl turned around and found the man who saved her. He was wearing a worn out white shirt filled with dirt and tear, and long brown pants with the same stature. His ruffled brown hair and kind green eyes took the little girl's attention as she continued to stare at them. The rumble on her stomach brought her out of her concentration, and she embarrassingly redden when it took a while for it to stop, "You must be hungry," the kind man said with a small laugh, "Join me, I just finished cooking."

The little girl immediately stood up and ran towards her share of food. The man placed a piece of meat above a big green leaf. She took hold of the bone of its side and starts devouring on the cooked delicacy. She stopped midway and looked at her savior to find him smiling at her when she ate like an animal. She once again redden in her cheeks and slowly continued on her eating. Afterwards, the man gave her a small bowl with clear water for her to drink. She graciously accepted it and enjoyed the liquid pushing down the food she just ate.

"Thank you, mister," she bowed her head to the man. The man just smiled kindly in return.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

"I'm Annella," her hair fluttered softly as she took a sit next to the man, "Though you can call me Nelly, everyone calls me that."

"I see, it's nice to meet you, Nelly."

"What's your name, mister?" she asked innocently. The man longingly looked at the forest at a moment before answering her question.

"I lost mine," he said, a sad smile spreading on his kind face.

"Where did you lose it?" the girl just asked.

"Far away, I don't think I can find it anymore," he answered. The girl stared at her for a while before seemingly coming up with a decision.

"I'll help you look for it," she stood up, her eyes leveling at his seated figure. He looked at her curiously with interest, "As thanks for saving me."

"I see," he smiled, "Thank you, Nelly."

* * *

Later at night, little Annella went back home and was welcomed by her worried mom. She was calling someone for help on the phone, intent on finding the missing girl. When she showed up at their doorstep, she immediately dropped the phone and embraced the little girl.

"Baby, where were you?" she said to the girl, tears forming on her eyes, "I was worried sick, are you alright?" she held her arms and examined the bandages.

"I'm alright, mommy, I just got lost in the forest," her mom's eyes went wide in shock, but she quickly started talking again to absolve her growing worry, "Someone saved me when I got chased by a wild boar, he also told me the way outside the forest."

"Did the man do anything bad to you?" she asked, still distressed at hearing what her little girl experienced. The girl shook her head in response.

"He took care of me and fed me when I was hungry, he's a very good person," she said as she beamed her mother with a carefree smile. Her mom hugged her again and sniffled outside the girl's sight. Nelly, softly caressed her mom's back to comfort her. She truly scared her mom, she thought to herself.

* * *

"Hey, mister, are you there?" early in the morning, Nelly ventured once again on the haunted forest and went straight to the hut of the man who lost his name.

"Nelly, why are you here? You didn't get lost again did you?" the man said as he got out of his hut.

"No, I didn't," she then held out the basket she's carrying towards the man, "I brought candies, let's eat it together," the man chuckled and accepted the sweet treat.

A month passed and Annella continued on visiting her forest friend. She tried to hide it from her mom, only going there when she's off at work, so that she won't scare her like before. However, her mother managed to track her daily activities, and decided to follow her one morning.

She was surprised at how nimble her daughter was once inside the forest. Because of her unfamiliarity of the abandoned forest, she got lost once she lost sight of her daughter. She groaned and rubbed the temple of her head at her misstep. She kept on walking, slicing through entrails of woods and snakes barging her path with her knife. Suddenly, she heard her daughter's laughter. She hastily ran towards the direction of the noise to find her little girl playing some sort of game with someone. She was shocked at the sight of a familiar face in the lost woods. She stepped outside of hiding, surprising the two.

"Suzaku…" she said above a whisper.

"Kallen, why are you-" his question was answered when the girl suddenly ran up towards the woman.

"Mom! How'd you find out I was here?" she asked with a mixture of happiness for seeing her mom unexpectedly and sourness at the earful she expects to get.

"Mom… I see," the brown-haired man smiled at the realization, "No wonder she seems so familiar," he said towards Kallen. She on the other hand, sharpened her glare at him. She then looked at her daughter and kneeled to talk to her.

"Hey, honey, can I talk to your friend for a minute?" the little girl suddenly frowned in response.

"He's not in trouble is he? He's not a bad person, mom," she pleadingly said.

"I know he's not, baby, I just need to talk him," she said with a smile. The girl nodded slowly and ran off to the huge tree with a makeshift swing. Kallen stood up and glared at the man, "So, not dead, explain," she demanded. Suzaku sighed at her hostile temper.

"It's a long story," he turned around and gestured her to follow, "Let's talk there," he pointed at his hut.

* * *

"You and Lelouch…" she breathed out. She couldn't believe what she just heard, but Suzaku's serious expression and clear tone convinced her that it's all true.

"Kallen, I told you this because I think you deserve to know the truth," he said.

"To think you two would willingly do a stunt like that, I'm amaze you even thought it was possible," she scoffed.

"Lelouch was confident he could pull it off, and you know him. If there's anyone in the world who could do something as audacious as that, it was him," they both solemnly lowered their heads at the memory of the most hated man in the world. A lover for one, and a dear friend for the other, "If he hadn't died that day, the world would have been better off," Kallen was surprised at the gentleness behind Suzaku's words.

"You don't blame him for failing?" she asked.

"I did, but it wasn't his fault," he looked at her, his face full of regret, "I was his Knight, I failed to protect him and Nunnally."

They stayed in silence for a while. Kallen had her head full as she tries to sort out and deal with the information she's been handed, and Suzaku for trying to bear the weight of his failures.

"Do you remember what Lelouch said back in Kamine Island?" Suzaku said, breaking the silence.

"About what?" Kallen asked.

"About me killing my father," the woman just nodded in response, "I was only ten at the time, the same age as your daughter," they both looked at the little redhead happily climbing a tree.

"What are you trying to say?" Kallen asked, her eyes still locked at her little girl.

"People who knew of the incident said that I did it because I didn't want a full on war to happen, and maybe they were right, but what drove me to do it is because that old fool planned on killing Nunnally," Kallen was speechless at what she just heard, she returned her gaze to the brown-haired man, "I don't clearly remember what happened, but when I heard of that, my body moved on its own, and my dad was dead before I realized it," he brought his two hands to his head, his fingers clutching tightly at his hair, "I did it for them, and yet in the end…"

"Suzaku…" Kallen started, she tried to find the right words to say, "What do plan to do?" the man just looked back at him, his tears freely falling on his cheeks, "You can fight with us, even now, we're still fighting."

"Suzaku Kururugi is dead," he stated softly, "Even if he were to come back, with the reputation as the Demon Emperor's Knight, no one will listen."

"I see…" she silently stood up, "Take care of Nelly, she's taken a real liking to you. Just make sure she gets home before dinner," she smiled at him sadly, as if to comfort him for his failures, even if it's a tiny bit.

"Kallen…" Suzaku was surprised at the kindness he received, "Is her father..." he hesitated to continue as he rubbed off his tears.

"It's Lelouch," she answered.

"I see," he then stood up and faced her again, "I know I'm not the right person to say this, but… if you chose to remember Lelouch as the man you loved, then..." he smiled at her, "You chose right."

"Is that so," Kallen said as her voice started breaking down, "Thank you, Suzaku."

She went straight to her daughter, and when the little girl saw her mom walking towards her, she immediately went down the tree.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" she asked when she noticed the tears falling on her mother's eyes.

"It's nothing, baby, I'm just happy right now," she pulled the little girl on a quick embrace, before facing her again, "What would you like for dinner?"

"Hamburger!" she exclaimed happily.

Another smile formed on Suzaku's face as he watched his old classmate and rival in the battlefield happily talking to her child. When she left, he started thinking about what she said. He clenched his fist as he came to a decision.

"Nelly," he approached the girl and she looked at him from below, "Do you want to be stronger?" the girl seemed confused for a while before beaming at him.

"Yes!"

* * *

6 years later (1 year before Annella travelled back in time)

"Mom, look out!" jumping to her mother's rescue, the younger redhead gracefully spun in the air and landed a powerful kick charged by momentum to the man who dared to harm her mother.

"Nelly, that kick," Kallen called out as she studied the familiar technique.

"It's the secret technique master taught me," Annella proudly stood up, "I recently just got the hang of it. Seriously, it's an almost impossible kick to do.

"That Suzaku… what the hell has he been teaching you?" Kallen said as she walked towards her daughter, "I'm amaze you were able to do it.

"It's a fun technique, and once I mastered it, I can officially call it the Nelly-Nelly kick," her mother just looked at her in confusion, her face asking why the impossible spinning kick needs to be called that. She just puffed out her chest and starts explaining it to her, "When master was learning it, his master at the time encouraged him by letting him call it the Kuru-Kuru kick. It worked on him so he's trying it on me."

"You seem to like the idea of it," Kallen woes as she worry that Suzaku is rubbing off on her girl.

"Yeah, it's like having your own finishing move," she beamed away her mother's sullen look, "Still, the ghettos sure are getting restless lately. I wonder what's going on," she took the grocery she left in the ground and they resumed their stroll to their home.

"It's probably because of that master of yours… To think he'd pull that stunt on live TV," Kallen grimaced as she thinks about the event that happened last week.

Tamaki and his platoon screwed up and was caught captive by the Britannian Police Force. They were being paraded to showcase their scheduled execution, so the Black Knights came up with a plan to save the bumbling idiot and his crew of cleaning supporters. They were about to put it into action before a masked man beat them to it. Avoiding all the gunfire fired at him with incredible speed and agility, the lone figure leaped high in the sky and saved their comrades. And to makes matters worse, or in Nelly's opinion, better, the fool coughed up a bold speech about spreading hope.

"But it was thanks to him that Mr. Tamaki and the others were saved right?" she stated with a smile, "Say what you say, mom, but I think master taking up Zero's mantle is good. Besides, he needs to get in touch with society again, I don't want him to die alone on that forest."

"I guess you're right, but I'm afraid of what that idealistic idiot will do."

"Don't worry mom, master is probably different from the person you've remembered," Annella then looked at her with her trademark glee, "And a little hope is what our world needs right now," when she said that, Kallen couldn't help but be infected by her daughter's smile and optimism.

"Your dad would be jealous if he hears your admiration for Suzaku and his version of Zero," the younger girl was struck with an awful realization and brought her hands up in protest.

"Dad's still number 1!" she yelled out, causing a laugh from her mother, "Though you're still the best, mom," she said as she inched closer and locked arms with her beloved mother.

* * *

"MwaHahaHaha!" in a dimly lit room, Suzaku wearing Zero's mask and costume, dramatically tried out his public laugh, "What do you think, Kaguya?" together with him is the leader of the UFN, giving criticisms to his appearance and gestures.

"Make it deeper," she said with a finger on her chin, "Master Zero should be imposing and theatrical, always remember that Suzaku."

"Imposing and theatrical…" he then turned around before turning back again to face the lady of the Sumeragi household. His cape hovered around him, creating an illusion of shadows, "MwahaHaHAHA!"

* * *

I don't know why I wrote this, but heck its been written, so I shall upload. Just trying to add some history or some sort of flake in the future's past. And for those who didn't know the motive behind Suzaku's heinous act, well, now you know. It's on the Code Geass novel, it made the act sensible and realistic in guise, since I doubt a 10 year old will kill his father because he wants to stop a war he hadn't fully comprehend.

Anyways, I'm blabbering, tell me your thoughts about this extra chapter. I might add some every now and then in between chapters.


	7. Chapter 5

Lelouch arrived in class with heavy eyes. Dealing with the Black Knights last evening and having his mind swinging around Nunnally's safety, an unknown threat, Nunnally's whereabouts, how to avoid poking his eye when unleashing his Geass, and whether Nunnally's eating properly kept him wide awake.

He planned on not attending classes for the next day, but Shirley nagged at him and forced his little brother to take him to school. Rolo, ever the obedient boy, pulled him out of his bed. He reluctantly put on his uniform because he still owes Shirley when he ran away from her the other day, so he plans on not angering the girl anymore.

Once he took his seat, he took on his usual thinking pose to sleep without being bothered. The pose consists of him closing his eyes and placing his right hand on his forehead, and with his fingers sprawled out on his face, no one would notice that he was sleeping. He had perfected the act after the sleepless nights that accompanied leading a double life. A few minutes later, the black prince is deep in his slumber at the midst of a noisy classroom.

"Lulu, you came," Shirley exclaimed once she got in the classroom, "Lulu?" she approached his false thinking figure and slightly pouted after he didn't respond to her, "Hmph! Fine, if you're going to act like that, then I'll ignore you too," she went to her seat and glared at Lelouch's back.

Rivalz just entertained himself at witnessing his friends' lovers quarrel. He knows his best friend was sleeping, but he doesn't see any reason why he should fix the misunderstanding. Who knows, their little spat might lead to something more entertaining. So the smirking bastard just sat back and acted like the air, as he always does.

Their homeroom teacher, Villetta, came in a few moments later together with a brown-haired student. The whole class, except for the sleeping Lelouch, was surprised at the person who's standing in front of the class.

"Quiet down all of you," Villetta yelled at her whispering students. She nodded for the boy to introduce himself.

"Hello everyone, I'm Suzaku Kururugi and I'll be returning to classes here at Ashford Academy starting today. I look forward on studying with you," the ever straight-laced soldier said with his back straight.

The whispers in the class grew louder, and they started talking about their new classmate's status and fame. Having a Knight of the Rounds as your classmate is not, after all, a daily occurrence. Their teacher quieted the class again before she starts to explain why someone like Suzaku was in their class. The green-eyed knight, however, didn't give attention to what's happening in class, instead he stared right at his former friend. He glared at his still figure and wondered whether he had remembered who he truly is. Unfortunately for Suzaku, he had and he's taking a nap.

"You can take the desk next to Lelouch for now," Suzaku nodded and started walking.

 _"Lelouch, you were my first real friend, but the war torn us apart."_ Suzaku started his monologue.

"Zzz…"

 _"You, who were abandoned by your homeland, and I, who was forced to abandon my homeland. When reunited, we were at once enemies and allies. Even though I'm Japanese, I'm also a Britannian Soldier, and you… you're Zero!"_ Suzaku grimaced at the memory of unmasking the leader of the Black Knights.

"Zzz… zzz…"

 _"We both hid our true identities, and we fought each other…"_ he steeled his glare, _"You might be back to Ashford again as a normal student, but those events truly happened,"_ he felt his jaw clenched hard when he thought of Zero's crimes.

"Z… zz… zzz…"

 _"The Emperor rewrote three things in your memories,"_ he thought, _"Nunnally, anything about Zero, and your identity as a Prince of the Empire,"_ he stopped when he reached his seat and stared at Lelouch for a second, _"For now I'm your friend, and I'll act as one, after all, you…"_ he then noticed his soft continuous breaths, "are sleeping."

"Zzz… zz… z…"

Suzaku felt somewhat defeated, so he dropped his bag loudly at the desk.

"I'm awake!" startled by the sound, Lelouch stood up in a haste. He looked around and saw everyone staring at him. He did a double take at his right and saw a very familiar face, "Su-Suzaku?" he blinked and rubbed his right eye to be sure.

"Still the slacker, I see," Suzaku said, "How's it going, Lelouch," he expressed his trademark kind smile for him to see.

 _"What's going on? Why is Suzaku here? And the way he's acting…"_ Lelouch's eyes went wide at the realization, _"So that's how you're going to play this out? Don't take me for a fool, Suzaku, I swear I'm going to mark your grave,"_ Lelouch quickly hid the surprise and anger in his face. He smiled back and acted out, "Hey, it's been awhile."

"Suzaku, you're back," Shirley cried out as her and Rivalz run towards their friend.

"You're moving up in the world, buddy," Rivalz said, pointing out his newly gained status as the Knight of Seven in the Knights of the Round.

 _"That was close. I blurted out his name in a panic, but it seems like we're still 'friends' in this false setting,"_ Lelouch thought as he let out a fake smile to their reunion, _"You've screwed up, Suzaku. Not only did you miss the perfect chance to unmask me again, you also narrowed down the memories that bastard took away from me."_

"I heard Suzaku's back, is he here?" slamming the door as she entered, the infamous President of Ashford Academy disturbed her fellow schoolmates' classes in order to look for a friend.

"Madam Pres, classes are still taking place, you should go back to yours," Lelouch told the blond intruder.

"What's with you Vice Pres, this calls for a celebration!" she raised her hands in exaggeration and started to clap.

"Alright, enough of that. Milly, go back to your class," their teacher scolded the unruly president, "And you four," she pointed at Lelouch and co, "Take your seats."

* * *

Walking down the corridor after classes, Annella had her fingers on her chin. She had ignored the people calling behind her and just briskly walked away as soon as the bell rang. She busied herself through the long walk to her room by thinking of her next move.

 _"Should I tell him?"_ she pondered, _"I heard him when he said that she's his reason for trying to change the world, but still..."_

In the journal C.C. gave her, Annella had ascertain her father's relationship with her sister. Just like with her dad, she didn't get the chance to interact and get to know her aunt. She did hear some mention of her from her mom, but she couldn't fully comprehend it at those times. C.C. had only put in little information of their past in the journal, but it was enough for Annella to understand the situation that surrounded them, and as to why her father is so vehement on crushing Britannia and its system.

"A gentler world…" she whispered, _"Does the end justify the means or not… I hate dealing with philosophy,"_ she had thought of the question that Lelouch asked of his foe. It was most likely a ruse that Lelouch used to gain some time, but it did trouble her, _"I can't believe this hadn't come up to me before… It was so simple back then, or further then… this is so screwy."_

She was taught relentlessly before by her commanders to be ruthless and cold in the battlefield, and it molded her mind to be such. As a soldier in an army that constantly fights a losing battle, an excessive kind of that resolve and determination is needed to stay alive. So she had never questioned the need to kill those who wished to harm her and her family. But being flung back in a time where people are just moderately killed instead of being a regular occurrence made her wonder if there's another way to deal with things.

 _"Nunnally, even her name sounds so gentle, I wonder what she's like,"_ she was intrigued by the blind and crippled girl whose worth became the catalyst to shake the foundation of the world, _"Still, if I do tell him, how do I do it without appearing suspicious… not like I had any success on that area."_

 _"I could always tell him the truth,"_ the thought struck her. She had thought about it since the beginning, but no matter what angle she glance it upon, she can't see it producing any good on the long run. It might give them an immediate advantage, but once things starts to slip up, then they'll be faced with the unknown, _"And that unknown will most likely end with his death, rendering my coming here pointless,"_ it might be because she had been on the presence of Lelouch for a while that his paranoia had started to rubbed off on her, but the way Lelouch acts on C.C.'s journal made her wary of her father's impulsive decisions to put his life in unnecessary danger, _"It's like he has a death wish or something… I really need to beat that self-pity out of him."_

 _"Right now, I need to count on this time's C.C. to connect the dots before I even think of revealing who I am,"_ she thought of her conducted plan. She had left hints for the lime-haired immortal to be suspicious of her. The surname, 'Corabelle' was one of it, _"Cecilia Corabelle, it fits her more than a tasteless name like C.C."_ she thought with a smile.

She stumbled upon the name accidentally on the woman's journal, she doesn't know whether she left it there intentionally or not, but the name intrigued her the moment she read it. She had thought of just revealing herself outright to the immortal, but it increases the risk of her father finding out prematurely. She also considered her ineptitude in persuasion, as her dealings with her father proved that she's not as convincing as she would like to think, and that she tends to fumble and slip out important details.

"Worst-case scenario I'll be put into a mental ward," she said to herself. She unconsciously started touching the blue earring she got from the witch, "If only I managed to prolong this secret," she sighed. Now there's a thought looming on her head that her father will snap it out of her ear and use his Geass on her. She shuddered at the idea of it, who knows what kind of orders he'll use on her if that were to happen.

 _"No, he's not like that… right?"_ she could only ask herself. She kept on walking, her head off on the clouds as she passed by a group of students having a lively conversation

* * *

"You really have a thing for cats, Suzaku," Lelouch said as he watch the nobly named feline bit the Knight's hand. His eyes wandered around for a bit, and he caught sight of the detectable red ponytail. His pause was easily recognized by the girl across him and she took a glance to where he's looking.

"Isn't that the girl who was looking for you the other day, Lulu?" Shirley asked, taking Lelouch's attention.

"That's right. She asked me for some help, since she just transferred in," he fibbed. At his mention of her, everybody started taking glances of the passing young girl, visibly deep in thought.

"What's this? The Ice Prince decided to extend his cold hands to help someone? When did you start warming up to your juniors?" Milly asked with a smirk, "Or maybe that girl is just special?"

"I would really appreciate it if you don't jump into conclusions, Pres," Lelouch stated calmly despite the growing heat directed on him.

"Heh, so that's the girl that my buddy has his eyes on," Rivalz said, joining in on the teasing, "You sure have a particular type."

"Eh, he does?" Shirley asked, slightly shocked.

"Doesn't that girl remind you of someone?" at this everyone started staring at him.

"Now that you mention it, I did thought she was oddly familiar," Milly said.

Lelouch looked at them with curiosity. He had felt that way ever since he was introduced to the younger redhead, but to think his friends also felt the same. He contemplated on pressing on the subject, because despite his misgivings to the girl, she is allied to him. Since Suzaku is here, it could easily turn into trouble if they recognize her as affiliated with the Black Knights. He stared at the man who bears the title, 'White Death' and steeled his jaw at the memory of his once best friend selling him to the Emperor.

"Kallen," Suzaku muttered.

Lelouch's eyes widened for a bit as he heard him. He thought that Kallen's existence in the school was removed from their memories, but his sudden utterance of her name made Lelouch thought otherwise. Still, he couldn't risk himself on the chance that this was a trap by Suzaku, so he waited for someone to talk first.

"That's right, Kallen," Shirley exclaimed with a happy jolt. Lelouch inwardly thanked her for bringing out the proof that he needed. She then noticed his stare on her, and she inquisitively looked back at him, "So that's your type, Lulu? I knew you and Kallen were hiding something," she pointed out, Lelouch just continued his stare at her, lost to what she's talking about.

Because of his wariness to Suzaku, he completely forgot the topic of their discussion. So he can't help but squint his eyes on protest to what Shirley's claiming.

"What are you talking about, Shirley?" Lelouch asked.

"That girl," she pointed at the corridor, "She's gone," she turned back to Lelouch, "Anyway, I was talking about that girl being your type!" she accused the dreadful prince.

"Again, what are you talking about, Shirley?" he said, expressing disbelief in his face.

"He's denying it, how cute," Milly took a step near the orange-haired girl, "I know it's hard, Shirley, but that's just how love is," she dramatically expressed as she placed her hands on her shoulders, "Rivals popping out of nowhere, you have to stay strong."

"President," the girl said teary-eyed. She nodded and rubbed her tears out in determination.

"Seriously, I'm getting a bit lost here," Lelouch stated before looking at his allied brother for answers.

"I think they waged war on that girl," Rolo said, "I doubt they'll win though," he said as he recalled his first meeting with the redhead.

"What do you mean by that, Rolo?" the boy eating his sandwich peacefully, squirmed once he saw Shirley's glare. He gulped his incompletely chewed sandwich and started to choke. Lelouch just sighed and gave him some water.

"You sure are popular, Lelouch," Suzaku said.

"Don't start," Lelouch said dejectedly which caused the young Knight to chuckle.

"I wonder how Kallen is though," Milly said after letting go of Shirley, "Do you have any news about her, Suzaku?" the boy in question grimaced as if hesitating before deciding to talk.

"I heard reports of the Guren being in the Chinese Consulate," he started, "I can only assume she's there," he studied Lelouch's expression. When the one subjected to his stare realized this, he seemingly just took the news in stride and focused on helping his brother.

"I see," Milly said with a sad expression, "I can't blame her, but still…"

"At least we can assume she's alright, right?" Rivalz interjected, "More importantly, Lelouch you should already fess up," the raven-haired boy just looked at him with a blank stare, "C'mon, what's your relationship with that girl?"

"I already told you, she's a friend."

"Then did you befriend her because she looks like Kallen?" the blue-haired teenager pressed on.

"She does?" Lelouch asked with slight confusion.

"You don't notice it…?" Milly asked, and the other three except for Rolo had the same question on their heads.

"Huh…" Lelouch fell back to his thoughts, and remind himself of the mysterious girl's face. He suddenly stood up with surprise plastered on his face, "Why didn't I notice this before?"

"I don't know, buddy," Rivalz laughed weakly.

* * *

Rolo was eyeing the Knight of Seven. He had commanded him to escort him to their base so that he can check on Lelouch and their surveillance on him. He felt irritated when he can't do anything but follow an enemy's order. Lelouch had specifically told him not to act rash and kill the knight. Despite the knight's reputation as being inhumanely strong, with just one flick of his Geass, he could already see the newly appointed knight lying in his pool of blood. Still, he held back his bloodlust, because his brother's right, if he kills him now, who knows what kind of repercussion awaits them.

"Did you notice anything unnatural about him?" Villetta Nu broke the silence. The Baroness had come just earlier to check up on them.

"None. But give me some time, I still need to confirm something," Suzaku said.

"Do you not trust our surveillance?" Rolo said.

"It's not an issue of trust," Suzaku answered firmly, "But as I told you, just give me some time," Rolo gulped his retort and just nod at the Knight's order.

"I see," Villetta, "Do you need anything else?"

"Can you give me a copy of the transfer student's profile?" Rolo flinched at what Suzaku had demanded. It was unnoticed by the two as Villetta immediately agreed to help.

* * *

C.C. had been lazing around as usual in the sofa. She took a break from writing just earlier as her journal is placed open at the table near her. She arched upwards, stretching her back and legs. After feeling the strain, she let her body fall to the cheese pillow she's been hugging. She brought her head up slightly for her eyes to peer at the huge plate containing two pizzas. She buried her head in the pillow, not finding the mood to eat those two pizzas specially made for her consumption. She's been thinking about their new member and the strange feeling she felt afterwards. She's been experiencing a myriad of strange sensations multiple times for the past few days, and she felt compelled to address it, but she doesn't know where to start.

As she's thinking about it, another wave of sensation traveled through her body without warning. She felt like someone breathe out some cold air in her exposed back. She let out a whimper over the pillow and laid to rest as it passed through. She thought of putting some more clothes over her white tank top that doesn't cover her midsection, and white panty shorts, but decided against it after finding no strength to stand up.

 _"I won't be able to finish anything with this unconventional spasms, though I do admit they're kind of refreshing,"_ she thought as she laid her head to the side. She found her gold irises exchanging stares with the girl she grew fond of at the past year.

"Are you alright? You let out a cry all of a sudden," Kallen asked with worry. She was on her usual vest-shorts attire, her hair striking upwards thanks to the red headband she loves to wear.

"Yeah, I am. I never get sick," she said as a trail of mucus suddenly left her nose, "Correction, never got sick until now," she then tried her hardest to roll over and sit down, but her body didn't listen to her so she just stayed in place, "How odd, I've pretty much forgotten the feeling of being sick."

"You are not alright, okay, message received," she took a handkerchief and wiped C.C.'s nose.

"Thank you, Kallen, how motherly of you," teased the sick immortal.

"Shut up," she said with a shy of affection and embarrassment. After cleaning her face, she helped her lie down and rest on her back on the soft couch, "I guess this proves that you're still human."

"I don't know," C.C. said with her eyes closed, feeling a slight burn the longer she keeps it open, "For all the time that I've been immortal, I never felt this weak…" she said with a cough.

Kallen immediately brought her hand to the woman's forehead and felt incredible warmth as her palm made contact with her skin.

"You're burning up," she said after kneeling down beside her, "Does normal medicine work on you?" the green witch just groaned out some inaudible words and went to sleep, "I'm guessing that's an 'I don't know.'"

She then picked up her phone and called the only person other than her to know of her… condition. As she dialed the number, her bright blue eyes laid sight at the immortal woman's journal. She looked at the capitalized title at the top that read, 'Lelouch and Kallen – A Romantic Study.' She looked at the resting woman's face and stared at it with disbelief.

* * *

"Lelouch, I think we should kill Kururugi."

Lelouch looked at his foster brother, his thumb and forefinger are on his chin, and a serious expression is painted on the assassin's face. He fought the need to laugh at the sudden suggestion, because he knows that the boy in front of him tends to shoot first then slit throats later. They just finished putting all OSI agents, with the exception of Villetta, under the influence of his Geass. They're now free to talk whenever they want, since no one was watching them.

He hesitated to step forward when he felt the enormous bloodlust coming from the weak-looking boy. He sighed, and tried to reason with him on a fair distance.

"Rolo, we've talked about this," he mimicked his serious expression for him to listen, "We can't have dead bodies on our trail, especially not one of Suzaku's status."

"I know, but, I feel like his planning something against you, Lelouch," he said, "And he's also suspicious of Annella, he'll eventually find out at this rate."

Rolo had told him earlier of Suzaku's unusual command, and he can't help but admire the Knight's sharpness. But when it comes to mind games and situations such as this, he's confident that he outclassed Suzaku by a mile.

"Don't worry about that. Besides, I'm curious what that fool has in store for me," Lelouch said with a smirk, "And I've already informed Annella, I'll had her lay low for now."

"If you say so, Lelouch," he said dejectedly.

"Come now, we're brothers, you don't need to act so formal when around me," Rolo perked up at what he just heard, "And my plan is already in motion," he grinned wildly, "The liberation of Japan will start in this school!" Rolo felt compelled to clap at his brother's dramatic declaration. Lelouch basked at his brother's admiration, and it was only put to stop by the vibration of his Zero cell.

"Kallen?" he looked at his phone and saw the Q-1 contact name. He put on the device that allows his calls to be untraceable and answered back, "This is Zero, what is it?"

"C.C.'s sick, do you have any idea how to take care of her?" Kallen said over the phone.

"Sick? That woman can get sick?" he asked in disbelief.

"She mentioned that it was her first time getting sick, after you know, becoming immortal."

"Is that so," Lelouch paused and reflected on what to do. He brought out the phone back to his ear after a few seconds, "I'll be visiting, I'm rather curious at what's happening to her right now. Prepare to open the secret route, I'll be there shortly."

"You're going, big brother?" Rolo asked.

"Yeah, something interesting just happened," he answered before glancing at the boy, "Maybe you know something," Rolo just looked at him questioningly, "Do you know that C.C. can be sick?"

"Huh? She can?" he said with surprise.

"I guess you don't. I'll be leaving matters here to you for the moment, and remember," Lelouch firmly glared at him, "No unnecessary killing," Rolo nodded and Lelouch took that as cue to walk away.

"That woman can get sick?" Rolo said to himself, "I wonder if V.V. can get sick as well. I should try poisoning him at a later date."

* * *

Annella slumped on her bed and looked at the text she received from her dad. It read 'Stay low for now, someone's suspicious of your cover." There's nothing more she hates than being put on standby. She doesn't like the idea of 'staying low' since her body screams for her to always stand up high. She threw her phone away in mock annoyance and whispered a low "I hate you, dad" at the confines of her mattress. She's bored, and she doesn't like staying idle.

She started thinking about this 'someone' who's suspicious of her, so she took the leather journal and opened it. She searched for the date and when she started reading, her eyes focused on the new name that popped up. It read, _"Today, Suzaku Kururugi came back in Lelouch's class."_

"It's today! How could I forgot?!" she cried out after standing up and raising the book above her head, "Master..." she then remembered some of the scenes she had read before, "Why are you fighting against dad?" she slowly dropped back to her bed and started thinking.

 _"What should I do?"_ she asked herself while looking at the journal, slightly hoping that the notebook has an answer, _"I want to know why,"_ she hardened her hold on the journal and the paper her fingers are touching started to crumble. She put a stop to it after she witness she's doing harm to one of her lifelines, _"I need to know."_

She stood up and threw the notebook on her bed. She ran up to the door, but stopped once her hands touched the doorknob.

 _"What will happen if I ask him? He'll find out I'm allied to Zero, and eventually realize that dad got his memories back…"_ she fell on her knees and sighed heavily, "What should I do?" Then a snap in her memory made her realize something,"

"That's-" her head came into contact with the metal doorknob before she can celebrate her newfound idea. It caused a loud thud and she held her head in pain, "Aye, aye, sir. I'll stay low…" and she went back to her bed to sleep off the pain coming from the bump forming on her head.

* * *

Kallen didn't know whether to be worried or annoyed. She's been taking care of the sickly immortal for the past two hours, and the moment she woke up on her brief rest, she'd been taking advantage of Kallen's kindness. First it was only water so she got her a glass without hesitation. Then she asked for some music, Kallen felt it was reasonable so she played some tunes on her phone. Afterwards, she asked her to put a wet towel on her forehead, which Kallen quickly did. After dozens of orders which Kallen felt reasonable enough to follow despite exhausting her, the witch is now asking to be fed mouth to mouth.

"You're serious?" Kallen repeated.

"Yes, I want you to chew some of my pizza, and once it's easy to digest, I want you to give it to me," she asked with her flushed face. A blue blanket (courtesy of Kallen) was covering her shivering body up to the soles of her feet, "And don't use your hand, just pass it to me from your mouth. You can use your tongue to push it."

Kallen blushed as she hysterically imagined a picture of her frenching the green witch, visibly fighting for dominance as their tongues locks up with one another, a wave of pleasure evident on their face.

"Hurry Kallen, I'm hungry," C.C. pleaded with a very adorable face. The tears forming on her eyes and her reddened cheeks accentuated her neediness.

Kallen on her current phase of sexual fluidity couldn't stop the nod that she conveyed. Struck by her honor to hold on to what she agreed to do, and the pride to hold her ground, Kallen bit some of the cheesy pizza and chewed on it slowly. She kneeled near the alluring woman and inched her face closer as a trail of melted cheese started to slip off her mouth. In response, C.C. slightly opened her mouth, openly inviting the warm lips that housed her favorite food.

"Q-1, I'm here, what's her status?" Lelouch asked as he walked around the glass door.

He removed his mask and once he came to view, he was put to a halt. He lost hold of his helmet as he lay witness to his most loyal subordinate locked in an intense kiss with his original accomplice. The moment his helmet contacted the cold hard ground, Kallen opened her eyes and lifted her sky blue pupils at the top of her eyelids. She immediately broke off the kiss as she saw who it was, and a trail of saliva and cheese became apparent on the parting of their lips.

"Z-Z-Zero! T-This… t-that… n-no!" flushed with the same color as her hair, Kallen couldn't utter a coherent sentence.

"Ah…" C.C. said with a tone of disappointment. She then gulped down the food on her mouth, "Sorry boy, I think I got her first kiss," this caused the redhead to cover her face in shame, and shake her head frantically.

"C-Carry on!" Lelouch said as he ran outside, completely forgetting the fact that he needs to hide his identity as he left his mask on the floor.

"This could be bad," C.C. said. The redhead glanced up to her through the gap of her fingers and immediately shy away when they locked eyes, her cheeks still covered with red as she stared haplessly on the ground, _"Eh? What was that reaction?"_ C.C. thought.

Kallen then noticed Lelouch's mask on the ground. She snapped out of her thoughts and shortly ran after their leader.

"Z-Zero, you forgot your m… you forgot something!" C.C. heard her voice echoed through the hallway. She then thought of Kallen's expression earlier.

"Why do I have this foreboding feeling that I did something incredibly unnecessary?"

* * *

In a certain dorm room in Ashford Academy, a young girl rose up in her quick slumber and stretched her arms satisfyingly. She felt good, that nap did wonders on the girl's mental and physical condition. She stood up and went to her mini-fridge to take away a bottle of water. She drank the water down, and she felt wonders when it went down her throat.

She look at her arms and wondered why she felt so light. She then noticed the skin on her left arm to be blooming on the semi-dark room. She opened the light on her lamp and went wide-eye in shock.

"W-What the hell?" she looked at her left hand and compared it to her right. It looked lighter, brighter, and more transparent… _"Transparent…"_ she then thought of that one time travel trilogy that was released on the 80s and became a classic hit.

"Oh, shit, no."

* * *

I'll be busy in the coming holidays so expect some slow updates. By the way, girls who likes to eat fruits are literally sweet; foreplay had never been so... tasty and enriching! As always, leave your thoughts on this chapter.

For those wondering why Annella doesn't have knowledge of all the things that are suppose to happen, is because C.C.'s journal only contains her perspective of the story that unfolds on the original anime. There are some bits on Lelouch and Kallen's perspective, since she talked to them the most. Her talks with Marianne and anything that involves the Geass order is on another notebook as well, and she didn't got to give it to her. Anyway, that's that on the journal thing, Annella is still blinded when it comes to some of the situations that C.C. didn't personally experience. But future C.C. added some stuff on it on her memory of talks with Lelouch, Kallen, and any of the Black Knights, and even Suzaku near the end.

Findirato - I can assure you that it happened in the novel, and the one who wrote it is the original author of Code Geass. The more likely scenario is that the manga "Nightmare of Nunnally" alluded that fact from the novel. Well good luck, I hope you get in to terms with your hatred on fictional characters.

Hell Lord 12 - That's actually the angle that I tried to go to the moment I wrote this fic. I want Annella to quickly be a part of the Code Geass Universe, otherwise she'll just feel like an outsider. Still, nice of you to notice. Kudos!

MadeInBestKorea - I just read your review, lol. As much as I can understand intriguing(?) feeling one gets at reading taboo love, I'm not really the person to look at for such stories. And such a foreboding review.

Repuclic, Guest, Awani, Random - thanks for the positive reviews.

Oh and before I forgot, the picture I used as cover picture was drawn by Miyami Waka, I found it on ZeroChan. I took it because the violet eyes and mischief that Kallen entails on that picture made me see Nelly. Though don't forget she have longer hair.

That's it for now. Merry Christmas and Awesome New Year to you Guys!


	8. Chapter 6

Annella stared at her see-through hand, asking the famed question 'what the hell is happening?' in her mind multiple times. She had an inkling guess to what's going on, but if she were to accept it now without calming her frantic breathing, she'd most likely be swallowed by her anxiety. So she slowed her breathing and started counting the seconds she held her breath and exhaled it.

"Inhale…" she breathed in, "Exhale…" she breathed out, "Good, we're calm now, right?" she asked herself, her eyes still locked at her glassy hand.

She closed the fingers on her clear hand and brought her right beside it. She compared the sight and texture of both arms and breathed heavily in acceptance of her fate.

"Okay… I'm disappearing. Cool, never experienced that before," she reassured herself, "But why? Did I mess up on something…?" her mouth gape as a thought ran into her mind, _"Did something happen to Mom and Dad?"_

She quickly took her phone and started calling her clueless dad.

* * *

Lelouch hid himself inside a confining closet to avoid the curious eyes of his minions. After witnessing an unexpected event, he found himself running around in a panic without his mask on. It took him a full minute to realize that he'd been flaunting his face around their base, fortunately he hadn't bumped into anyone so he quickly went inside the closest room he could find and hid at the inconspicuous closet his desperate eyes saw. He let down the cloth covering his mouth down to catch his breath, he relaxed and closed his eyes for the moment to think of his next move.

 _"How will I be able to get out of this stupid mess?"_ he thought, _"I could use my Geass, but the risk of running into a group of people is high, and someone might see me without my knowledge. More importantly, I don't even know where I am…"_

He suddenly heard a murmuring noise from outside the closet. He looked through the small slit openings of the closet and saw two of Tohdoh's loyal holy swords. Nagisa Chiba and Shōgo Asahina, he recalled their names. They were both wearing their gray donned uniform, clearly showing their distaste to the Black Knight's black outfit. Ironically, as loyal as those two are to Tohdoh, they are the most suspicious and least trusting to him, Zero. He remembered how Urabe – one of the holy swords – instantly accepted his identity and unhesitatingly sacrificed himself in order to save him. He thought that maybe his colleagues were the same, but the angered question the two asked him last night made him aware where their loyalties lies, and that is to Tohdoh and their Japan. A cocky Britannian Prince hiding behind a mask is most likely not in their friendly list, so Lelouch gulped nervously as he tried to stay quiet in the confines of the closet.

"Did you saw Kōzuki running around while holding Zero's mask?" Asahina started, "Maybe we can bear witness to Zero's face today," he scoffed with a light laugh.

 _"That Kallen… she must be looking for me,"_ Lelouch thought restlessly, _"I still can't believe that she swings that way,"_ Lelouch remembered the scene at the large room, _"There's nothing wrong with it, but I seriously thought that she was interested in…"_ he wanted to say himself, but the thought was quickly diminished as he recalled the passionate kiss between her and C.C. _"That witch, I'm sure she's responsible for this, I definitely have to think of a way to keep that woman in line."_

"It doesn't matter, I couldn't care less what that bastard looks like," Nagisa spouted, taking both the glasses man and Lelouch's attention to her, "I'm still suspicious of him, I don't like how he gets to keep secrets while we're out there sacrificing our lives. Urabe died thanks to him," she spieled the last bit with slight fury.

"You heard the story right? He died well protecting him," reasoned Asahina, "Besides, we're at war, death is mostly expected," he said with a tone of sadness. Lelouch couldn't help but sympathize with the two of them. Urabe had saved him with the cost of his life, and as the leader, the lives of his men is his responsibility. It's hard, but it's a burden he have to carry.

"I know, but still…" Chiba trailed off.

"Enough about that, what about you?" Nagisa looked at the four-eyed soldier curiously, "When are you going to confess to him?"

 _"Him?"_ Lelouch pondered. He's stuck so he might as well listen to some gossip.

"What are you talking about?" Chiba asked with visible reddened cheeks.

"You know what I'm talking about," chuckled Asahina, "We're at war, we don't know when our lives is going to expire, its best if we settle our secret admirations right?"

"T-That's…" the woman said with downcast eyes.

"Don't worry. Dense as he is, I doubt the commander's going to reject you," he teased the blushing woman.

Both Lelouch and Chiba perked at the mention of commander. Lelouch knew the commander is, since those two only had one person in mind as their commander.

"Shut up," Nagisa said in mock annoyance. She strutted towards the door and left the glasses man in thought.

"Though I guess, I'm not one to talk…" Lelouch heard him say as he followed his companion out of her ear shot.

 _"A love triangle?"_ Lelouch thought in realization, _"It'll be best for the order if they can settle it soon, maybe I should talk to Tohdoh about this,"_ his phone then started buzzing, taking him out of his thoughts.

"Annella?" he said as he looked at her name in his phone. He accepted the call and put the phone on his ear, "What is i–"

"Are you alright? Where are you?!" he heard her loudly. He noticed the panic and worry on her voice.

"I'm fine. I'm at the base, why–" he didn't get to finish his question again as she interrupted her with the same concerned voice.

"How about Mo–Kallen?" she flubbed for a second.

"Kallen? She's here as well, why–"

"Good!" she exclaimed loudly, causing Lelouch to move the phone away from his ear slightly, "I'm–" he didn't get to hear what she's about to say when he abruptly cut the call after he heard Tamaki's voice enter the room.

 _"Tamaki?! Why are people blazing in here?"_ he then peered through the slits again and steered his eyes around the room. There was a pool table on the side, a number of comfortable couches laid about everywhere, and a huge plasma TV glued on the wall, running a news report about a doctor and a nurse having done a world record about 'doing' something and them inspiring couples everywhere.

" _Is this the recreation room? Why is there a damn recreation room around here?!"_ he shouted loudly on his head, _"Of all the rooms to hide in,"_ he quickly turned off his phone in caution of someone calling him again.

"As I'm telling you, I saw a ghost who looks like Kallen yesterday," he heard Tamaki said to the people he's with.

 _"This is going to be a long day…"_ Lelouch thought heavily in his mind.

* * *

"I'm going to the base, have your men open the gates for me," she waited for a second for Lelouch's response only to hear a click, "Hello? Dad! I mean Lelouch?!" she shouted. She brought the phone down and saw her call had ended.

"He hanged up on me!" she exclaimed with a scowl, "Don't tell me something happened to him…" she gritted her teeth in impatience. She tried calling his cell again only to be received by a robotic voice detailing that her call can't be achieved.

"Drat," she hadn't introduced herself to the Black Knights, so casually walking inside is out of the question. She then looked at her left hand and steeled her eyes, "No time to waste."

She hurriedly stripped out of her school uniform and started to put on her combat fitted casual clothing. Having dressed on her black cap, black sleeveless shirt, and navy blue jeans, she hastily went near the doorway to put on her leather sneakers. Once outside, she ran with all her might towards her motorbike.

"Mom, Dad, I won't let the two of you divorce!" she yelled it out like a battle cry.

Unbeknown to her, a brown-haired student caught sight of her running figure, and admired her speed and form. After suspecting the odd time of her transfer, Suzaku Kururugi planned on confronting the girl about her connection with Lelouch. He was left standing when he heard her, a bit puzzled at his thoughts.

"I guess she's just a normal girl with family problems," Suzaku concluded. He abandoned his plan and started his way to the military.

* * *

Kallen momentarily stopped to catch her breath. She's been running around the consulate looking for Lelouch, but to no luck. She then brought the obsidian mask in front of her and saw her reflection on it. She thought back on what she did earlier and shook her head when she felt the growing heat on her face. She looked back again to the mask and thought of the man behind it, she wondered what thoughts ran in his mind when he saw her doing that with the green witch of the Black Knights.

 _"Why did I even… I'm sure that woman used a trick on me,"_ she thought with a blush, _"Though her lips did felt good…"_ Kallen unconsciously put a finger on her lips, and once she noticed this, she shook her head again to take the thought off her mind.

"Kallen, is that Zero's mask?" a female voice called Kallen from behind. She turned around and saw the smiling figure of Naomi Inoue*, the commander who provides logistical support for the group on her Black Knights' uniform. Kallen thought of hiding the mask behind her, but subsequently left it in the open after not knowing where to hide it.

"Y-Yeah, it's a backup mask. I borrowed it for something," she lied, "Have you seen him? I plan on giving it back to him," the woman in front of her just eyed her suspiciously.

"So you're looking for Zero to give him his 'backup' mask? Why? Did something happen to his original mask?" she slyly questioned the redhead. Kallen thought twice on how to lie to the sharp woman, but was saved by the smile she gave her afterwards, "Don't worry, I've no plans to unmask our mysterious leader. And to answer your question, no I haven't seen him."

"I see, thank you Naomi," Kallen said with a sigh of relief.

"Say, do you know what he looks like?" she asked, to which the girl suddenly tensed up, "Judging by that reaction, I guess you do."

"Umm…" Kallen uttered.

"Well, you are his personal guard, I'm sure you two had bonded enough for him to trust you his identity," she smiled at the panicky reaction of the red-haired girl, "Let me help you then, Zero might let me in the secret if I lend my hand."

Kallen thought of brushing off her offer, but considering that the woman is the one with the most sense in the old group, she decided to might as well accept her help. Considering her position in the group, her help is readily needed.

"Alright, I'll be back in just a sec," she took Kallen's nod and went off to the nearby room. She came back half a minute later, "Put Zero's mask in here, it'll be troublesome if other people saw us flaunting around his mask," she held out a shoulder bag and Kallen happily put it there, thankful for her new help.

Kallen took the bag and put it around her shoulder, the circular figure of the mask putting a slight bump on the bag, but it was inconspicuous enough for others not to take notice. They then walked the hallways in search for their unmasked leader, until a thought struck Kallen. The woman by her side had been a source of older sister wisdom for her through the years they'd fought together. She was a close friend of late brother, and had found herself confiding with her about a lot of things ever since his death. She's also the only other female of their small resistance group for a long time, so the two had developed some sort of sisterly bond.

"Naomi," Kallen started as she gathered up the courage welling on her chest. The purple-haired woman glanced at her curiously when Kallen paused for a while.

"What is it?" she asked.

"H-Have you kiss someone of the same gender," the redhead asked in a soft voice, unbefitting her fiery personality.

"Eh?" Naomi uttered as she looked at the younger girl with intrigue, "Who did you kiss?"

"N-No one!" she stammered, "I-I'm just asking…" she quickly went back to her timid pose.

"Is that so," the woman said, clearly not believing what she just said, "To answer your question, I had."

"You had?" Kallen repeated, "H-How did it feel?" she asked with curiosity.

"It felt like a kiss," she said, thinking of the right words to say, "Though women's lips are much softer compared to men."

"I see…" she remembered the experience and she agreed that C.C.'s lips was soft.

"There's nothing wrong with it, you know," Inoue said when she saw Kallen's downcast eyes, "The heart tends to like people not because of their genders, but because of who they are," she wisely said with a smile.

Kallen beamed at the wisdom she'd been given before remembering the person she just kissed. Her shoulders slumped depressingly at the thought of her heart liking someone like C.C. The older woman looked at her with worry, knowing that her wisdom seemed to have the opposite effect.

 _"What's so special with C.C. anyway?"_ she found herself asking, _"Sure she's beautiful, and people can just stare at her eyes and imagine running their fingers on her silky green hair…"_ she got lost off track before reminding herself again, _"But her personality is horrible!"_ she reasoned loudly. She bumped her head softly with her hands causing the older woman to chuckle with concern at the girl.

* * *

After speeding and breaking traffic regulations for the last half hour, Annella had arrived fiercely at the gates of the Chinese Consulate. Her glare alerted the guards standing at the gates, prompting them to approach the girl and question her business.

"Ma'am," started the taller guard of the two that walked towards her. He didn't get to continue when the redhead focused her glare on him.

"Open the gates," she demanded.

The two guards backed away as they saw the hostility on the girl's eyes. They tensed up and was about to ready their weapons, but was put to stop by the girl's sudden jump. She kneed the shorter guard on his face and put him to sleep. Before the other one could react at the phenomena, she quickly spun and gave a graceful roundhouse kick to the taller guard's chin. The guard was knocked unconscious and his body flaccidly fell on the ground.

All of a sudden, Annella snapped out of her bloodlust and looked at the two unconscious men on the ground.

 _"Oh crap, I did it again,"_ she put a hand on her temple and massaged the slight strain on her forehead, _"Master even warned me time and time again to put my rage in check…"_ she looked at the mess she'd made while muttering a soft apology to the fallen soldiers.

While her mother tried her hardest to raise Annella properly, unavoidable issues tends to be undealt with or put on the side. Especially when as a child, she would wind up by herself most of the time, voicing her view on a certain villain. Growing up with people who constantly dismisses her views and opinions lead the girl to bottling up her anger inside. Bit by bit, the number of times it happened caused her to snap at someone at seldom times, and it would always ends up with broken teeth and bruises from the side that receives her fury. She had improved in controlling her rage after being put under Suzaku's guidance. However, being under great distress, such as what's she's experiencing at the moment, shortens her fuse.

She thought of hiding the unconscious guards before anyone could see them, but the plan immediately dissolved the moment the gates opened without warning. She quickly hid behind the bush nearby and stalked the person who went outside the gates.

Li Xingke had his head down while mumbling something to himself. He was kept busy by the file of papers he holds and seems to be planning on issuing an order to the guards stationed outside before he looked at their senseless figures on the ground. He dropped the file of papers in a panic as he sensed a presence behind him. He quickly grabbed the hilt of his sword, but he was slow to react as a powerful heel made contact on the back of his head, rendering the great Chinese General flat on the ground.

"Sorry long-haired dude," she said before dashing towards the closing gates.

Once inside, Annella cautioned herself as if she had just infiltrated an enemy's stronghold. She quickly hid at the side of a huge circular pillar when a group of Black Knights walked by. She eyed the female knights' uniform and pondered on stealing a pair from an unlucky someone. She quickly entered a room once another group of people appeared behind her. She dashed along the large hallways with careful steps to avoid any unwanted gaze. She then found a purple-haired lady sitting alone in a bench, daydreaming about their leader's manliness. Nelly quietly snuck behind her and smacked her nape with the side of her hand, taking the 'day' off her daydreams. She looked at the girl she had just knocked out and found a familiar face.

"Miss Minase?" she blinked twice at the woman's face, "Sorry about this, I'll make it up to you someday," she dragged the poor woman's sleeping body to the nearest empty room she could find. Once inside, she stripped her off her uniform and was shocked by the woman's lack of underwear.

"Oh right, she's a pervert," Annella recalled the time where the woman explained to her that she likes the feel of cloth directly on her skin, "She was a pervert ever since, huh," she hummed. She felt like a criminal when she slid out the woman's skirt, so she tried her hardest to not look between her legs. Since she doesn't want to leave her naked, she put on her clothes to the woman, albeit with difficulty. Once that was done, she left her hidden at a nearby closet door, and afterwards, put on the borrowed uniform.

"Good, phase one complete," she said to herself as she fixed her ponytail, "Now on to phase two, finding C.C." she headed outside the room and started looking, but without a map, she was lost after a few minutes of wandering around.

* * *

C.C. stared at the ceiling with ill eyes. She'd been sick for the last few hours and while she relished the forgotten experience, it had become an annoyance after the never ending coughing and sneezing. She rose up in her lay with difficulty to reach the glass of water that Kallen had prepared for her earlier. As the water ran down her throat, the memory of the fiery girl's embarrassed and yearning gaze towards her fancied her intrigue. She did not expect her to follow through her teasing, much less her reaction. What she anticipated, however, was the redhead's witty counters or bashful stuttering, but she couldn't say that she wasn't entertained by her blushing embarrassment. Lelouch's untimely entrance was also the icing she needed to complete her daily fill of amusement. Still, the feeling of having done something undesired still loomed to her, and as she went back to lie down in the sofa, she started thinking of the reason as to why Kallen fell for her false plea.

"Maybe it's because I'm sick," she pondered, "She had been awfully obedient earlier."

A loud ruckus from the left opened door took her attention, and she livened up her ears to hear what it's about.

"What's going on?" someone said, she recognized the owner of the voice, it was Kaname Ohgi, Zero's Deputy Commander.

"Sir," yelped by one of the soldiers, "The Chinese General was found unconscious in front of the gates, and there have been reports saying that Lord Zero is missing."

"Zero? Was he even here?" Ohgi asked.

"Yes, sir, he was reported to have been inside the consulate for the last hour," silence followed and C.C. guessed that the deputy was thinking of what to do.

"We may have an intruder inside our midst," Ohgi said after a few seconds, "Rally our troops, we're going to look for the intruder and Zero, have the gates closed and no one is to leave without prior notice."

With a resounding echo of approval, the soldiers marched off to do what they were told. C.C. thought of getting up and closing the door, but her lethargic body put a stop to it. Just as she was about to plant a pillow over her head to drown the noises of heavy footsteps, the once leader of the resistance group entered the vicinity. When he got around the glass wall halting a straight access to the room, he saw the sickly figure of C.C.

"Miss C.C." he said, "Have you seen Zero?" the woman just weakly shook her head, "I see," he was about to step out before C.C. called out to him.

"Lock the door when you get out," she said in her sweaty form, "And put a 'don't disturb' sign, I'm sick, I don't want to be bothered."

The indecisive looking man quietly let her order drown into him before agreeing to follow. He stepped outside and put an impromptu sign with ink and paper.

"Better," C.C. said when she heard the man ran off to who knows where, "Time to sleep."

Before she can slip to her dreams, a loud knock on the door interrupted her. This caused irritation to the immortal as she yelled for the unwanted guest to go away. The knocking stopped for a moment, but it was suddenly replaced with a powerful force that knocked the door away and made it crash to the glass wall. The wall fell slowly and as it made contact with the ground, the glasses shattered with a sharp noise. C.C. held her head for the growing headache and watched as her visitor looked at her with feral eyes.

"It's you," C.C. said weakly, not finding the energy to voice her irritation, "If you're looking for Zero, he's not here."

"No, I'm looking for you, Cecilia…" the newly recruited redhead said, trying to catch her breath. The immortal raised an eye curiously at the mentioned name. If she was surprised, she was hiding it well.

"Is something wrong?" C.C. asked.

"Yes, very…" she then looked at her with a desperate glare, "I have to tell you something."

"Oh?" the immortal woman said, interest rising in her voice, "Do tell."

"I came from the future…" she revealed before being silent.

"Okay?" C.C. said with cough. She motioned for her to continue, but Annella just kept on doing some weird gestures with her mouth. She bumped her chest quite painfully, and an expression of regret instantly appeared on her face. She put a hand to massage the pain in her chest as she walked towards the immortal with heavy steps. The green witch's golden eyes followed her as she closed in, "You should really follow up on that statement."

The girl in response flimsily lunged at her, grabbing her by the shoulders. She opened her mouth multiple times, but no voice came out, just some soft individual grunts. She pointed a finger on her mouth and glared at the immortal with a plea of desperation in her violet eyes.

"You can't speak?" C.C. guessed to which the girl nodded excitedly with a smile of relief. Her game of charade continued, and she motioned her fingers into writing something, "There's my pen over there," she pointed at her opened journal in the table.

When the girl saw that, she immediately ripped out a page on the back which surprised C.C. Her complaint fell on deaf ears as the girl busied herself on writing on the paper. Once finished, she gave the paper to the sickly immortal.

"I'm Lelouch and Kallen's daughter," she read aloud. She let the statement out in the air for a moment to process it. Once it hit her, she looked at the girl with incredulity. This was a first for a very long time for the old immortal to be taken with such surprise.

Nelly nodded multiple times with her eyes stuck on her disbelieving face. C.C. felt somewhat convinced and continued to read.

"I can't give you any proof nor any details right now, but I need your help," she read softly, "I'm disappearing…" she looked at the girl and she brought her left arm in to view. C.C. was surprised when she saw the transparent hand. She pointed a finger and aimed to touch it, and was taken aback when she felt it connect to the end of her skin.

"Is that the reason why you can't speak?" C.C. asked, and the girl nodded unsurely. The immortal thought of what to do for a second before taking a tissue and nodding as she wiped her nose clean, "I'll help."

The redhead immediately beamed with happiness at her answer. She took the paper and started writing down the words she wanted to say. She gave it back to C.C. and it read 'Did something happen between mom and dad?' The immortal speculated for a second before a thought struck her. Her eyes went wide as she look guiltily at the girl.

"I think I know why…" Annella just looked at her curiously.

* * *

"How could an intruder get inside?" Kallen said in irritation. She and Inoue had been just briefed earlier of the current situation. With Zero missing, C.C. being an alluring tease, and an intruder that's been knocking people in every corner, Q-1 has a lot going in her mind at the moment.

"Seems like we have to postpone our search," the older woman said with a shy of dejection, "I'll head to the control room to check the security cameras, be careful Kallen," and with that the redhead rushed through the corridors in search for an intruder.

She arrived at the recreation room a minute later. Once she opened the door, she was greeted by the lifeless sight of Tamaki and two other of her comrades. They were sprawled around the floor, except for Tamaki who lay painfully at the pool table. She walked towards Tamaki when she noticed him move.

"Tamaki!" she yelled out. The man roused up and looked at her with half-opened eyes. Kallen then noticed a huge bruise on his forehead, "What happened here?"

"It's your ghost, Kallen…" he said with a weak cough, "Run…" and the loudmouth had been put to silence as his consciousness slipped away and his head fell on the pool table once again.

"Eh? What do you mean? Hey," Kallen shook his body, but Tamaki didn't respond.

"Leave him Kallen, he was struck hard in the head," appearing from inside the closet after failing to reach Narnia, Lelouch stood with his usual composure, "Do you have my mask?

Kallen turned around and wondered where he came from. Her question was answered when she glanced at the open closet behind him.

"You hid in there?" she asked with a soft laugh as she hand his mask to him, seemingly forgetting the sorry state of her comrade.

"It's undignified, but I was left with no choice," he said with a frown before putting his mask on. The clink of metal that locked his mask in place gave both of them a second of relief.

"What happened here? Did you see the one who knocked them out?"

"Yeah…" he said with slight hesitation, "Annella's gone rogue," Kallen's eyes perked up at the mention of the name.

What happened was that Annella was trying to stay incognito, but because Tamaki noticed her and kept pestering her, she got annoyed to the point of abandoning her cover. Usually she'll just let it pass and ignore the guy, but years of dealing with the man's idiocy combined with her panicked state, led to a head being smashed in the pool table… Tamaki's head. Though Lelouch and Kallen is clueless of the reason behind her action.

"You mean that girl from yesterday?" Zero nodded, "Why?"

"I don't know," he said as he kept thinking for an answer, "I sensed panic when she called me on the phone earlier, and she seemed furiously hasty when she arrived here. Those three didn't even stand a chance," he stared at the unconscious bodies on the room.

"Is she targeting you?" Lelouch noticed the danger in her eyes, which caused him to be a little disoriented when he remembered seeing the same glare from the currently wild Annella.

"I don't think so," he averted away from Kallen's glare, "Though she seems to be searching for something or someone…"

"What should we do then? I've been told that our men are dropping like flies, even that Xingke guy was found unconscious outside."

"I've witnessed it just earlier and beforehand, but to think her skills are this outstanding," he looked at the sorry state of their security, "I'm oddly reminded of Suzaku."

"That guy?" she scoffed at the thought of her former classmate, "He is stupidly strong."

"Yeah, and he's back in Ashford to check up on me," he wanted to massage his forehead, but settled on just placing a hand on his mask. He feels exhausted at the number of times he'd been getting unannounced headaches, because of problems appearing out of nowhere. Nonetheless, such trifles are still in his expected happenings, except for their current situation.

They were then disrupted by the marching noises of others, and a second later group of people came inside.

"Lord Zero!" one of the men said, "It's good to know you're safe."

"Lord Zero, there's an intruder in our midst! Your orders?" said by another one.

"Go in groups of four and search the area. I want the target alive, so don't use unnecessary firearms," the soldiers seemed taken aback for a second before saluting and heading out. They then passed out his orders to others, their screams and loud steps reaching ears to anyone nearby.

"You're with me, Kallen, I doubt I'd be able to subdue her on my own," Kallen nodded and followed behind him.

* * *

'How could you!' Annella wanted to scream, but her lack of a voice limited her with wild flailing of the arms. She stood over with her hands posed intimidatingly on her hips in protest to what the lime immortal had done.

"To be fair, she was asking for it. Do you even see how provocative your mother's clothes are?" she was only received with an angered glare. She raised her left arm again, which is now transparent up to her elbow, and pointed it at her, "It's my fault, I know, but it's just one harmless kiss. I didn't know it'll doom your existence."

Annella wanted to shoot her, but she reasoned herself that it'll just be a waste of time. Instead, she took another paper from C.C.'s diary, while ignoring her complaint to leave her poor journal alone.

She gave the torn paper to her and it read, 'Fix this mess!'

"I will, I will," she said in a bored tone. Despite the shocking and intriguing revelation, C.C. is too sick to care right now, "Just let me take my nap, I'm sick."

Annella then took her by the sling of her white mini shirt, and gave her a deathly glare. She mouthed out the word, 'Now!' and C.C. was forced to affirm. Annella then took the limette and carried her on her shoulder. The shorter girl slammed her fists softly on her back, demanding to be carried properly, but the redhead was occupied by the loud steps nearing the room.

"Freeze!" Kento Sugiyama, C.C.'s pizza chef arrived with three other Black Knights, "Let go of the girl!" he yelled as he pointed his dart gun. It isn't lethal, but the small darts had been dosed with a sedative that can fell a wild beast.

He received his request in a surprising manner when the hostage was thrown at him forcefully. He caught her, but the force of the throw pushed him on the ground. C.C. just groaned in annoyance at being tossed aside.

The act did its purpose and distracted the other three soldiers, giving little red time traveler the second she needs to attack. She jumped and gave a one spin Nelly-kick to the dumbstruck soldier at the right side of the wing, and the man fell in pain and lost hold of his weapon. Annella took up his tranquilizer gun when she landed and shot the other two as she narrowly evaded their fire. When the dart pierced their skin, they slump forward to their slumber.

She walked near the teal-haired man and pointed her gun above his face. Sugiyama got terrified at seeing the violet glint in her eyes. The girl smirked as the man squirmed beneath C.C. before firing the last round of sedative. The man got hit in the neck, and it immediately took him into a dreamless sleep.

C.C. also a witness of her surprising bloodlust, grew curious at the expression she had made, but before she can examine it any further, the girl's eyes turned back to normal as she shook her head wildly, removing the ferocity from her face. She then looked at her surroundings then took two of the unused guns lying on the floor. The immortal was surprised when one of the guns was thrown towards her. She caught it awkwardly and Annella gestured a shooting sign in her hand, telling her to back her up. C.C. just looked at the weapon before looking back at the redhead. She stood up and sighed in agreement.

"I'm guessing you're the intruder then," C.C. stated, "Still, you're quite the warrior, aren't you?" she said tauntingly, to which the girl just looked at her with a troubled expression, like a rebellious teen who did something behind her parents back, the lime witch noted.

She then surprised the centuries old immortal again by sweeping her off her legs and carrying her over her arms. C.C. didn't had the energy to protest so she just endured the rough treatment. Annella rushed out of the room with C.C. slung on her shoulder, the baggage immortal reflecting on her regrets of meeting with the vi Britannian bloodline as she let out a sneeze.

* * *

Lelouch arrived at the briefing room and was shocked at the sight of four of his men knocked out, and beneath them was shards of the glass wall that used to stand in front of the entrance.

"What happened here?" Kallen came from behind him and rushed to aid her comrades. A sudden groan of one of the members took their attention, and they saw the sprawled man on the right wing of the room move slowly. Lelouch approached the man and helped him get up.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Lelouch said.

"L-Lord Zero!" the man suddenly jolted when he saw his boss' obsidian mask, but quickly fell as the pain in his face reminded him of what happened, "I–We were attacked, Lady C.C. was also taken," he wiped his bloody nose with the hem of his uniform.

"C.C.?" Kallen remarked and looked at the disheveled sofa that the pizza woman laid in earlier, "Zero, do you have any idea why she took C.C.?"

"I don't know, though I doubt she took her as a hostage," it took a second for Kallen to realize the futility of having an immortal as a hostage, "As I suspect," he continued, "She doesn't seem to have any plans on killing our soldiers," he took a knee and examined the dart stuck at Sugiyama's neck.

"Then why is she doing this?"

"I have no idea, but she seems desperate…" Kallen was about to ask how he thinks so, but was interrupted when Lelouch immediately stood up, "You," he faced the groggy man, "Did your group break down the door?"

"N-No," the man said, a bit flustered at talking to their leader personally, "It was already broken down when we entered, and there were already some glass shards in the ground."

"I see, do you have your tranquilizer gun with you?" the man searched his pockets, but came empty handed, "She took their weapons…" Lelouch groaned, but because of the voice synthesizer it became more of a growl that startled both Kallen and the recruit.

"Kallen, do you have any weapons with you?" Kallen brought out a mini-taser and her pouch knife out her bag pocket, "All right, that will do. Avoid fatally injuring her if possible," he was then offered a baton by the dizzy soldier. Even though he didn't plan on fighting, he took the man's baton to avoid disregarding his subordinate's good intention. He hid it on the side of his shirt.

Kallen grumbled for a bit before nodding her head in affirmation. She's growing curious at the visible concern that Lelouch shows to the new recruit whose wreaking havoc in their base. She had worked and followed the man in front of her for a year, but this was definitely a first for Kallen, to see him act so hesitant when giving orders.

"Do you have any questions, Q-1?" at the mention of her codename, Kallen stood in attention. Even though she couldn't see his face, she assumed that there's an expression of doubt behind his mask. As a soldier of the Black Knights or as the personal guard of Zero, it's her duty to clear that doubt to the best of her abilities. So rather than voicing out her concern, she gave him a determined look before marching ahead of him. Lelouch, though a bit puzzled, was glad that Kallen placed her trust on him.

Before their search could continue, they were interrupted by a group of soldiers when they stepped outside of the room. The Deputy Commander was the one leading the fray.

"Zero," Ohgi called out. He was together with three other soldiers, all carrying firearms meant for capturing, "Things are getting hectic around here, we found Tohdoh and the holy swords asleep at the cafeteria."

"Those guys?!" Kallen said in disbelief.

"When did you found them?" Zero asked.

"About half an hour ago, apparently they encountered the intruder setting up some sort of barricade with the tables. Witnesses accounts that they exchanged fire for a short while, but because the opposing side has Lady C.C. as a hostage, Tohdoh decided to talk it out," Ohgi breathed heavily before continuing, "The other side agreed on the deal, and when C.C. was walking towards Tohdoh's group, the intruder threw a smoke bomb towards them. When the smoke faded, Lady C.C. was gone and Tohdoh's group was left unconscious."

"Just who is this person?" one of the soldiers, Minami Yoshitaka, exclaimed in the air, "There have been no reported casualties, but to be able to take down General Tohdoh like that, not to mention, alone…"

"Enough," Zero interrupted, "Our dear intruder is someone I know," the soldiers gasped and Kallen looked at him, curious as to where he's going with.

"You know him?" Ohgi voiced out.

"Her," Zero corrected him, "She was the pilot of the Gloucester who saved me yesterday."

"Her?" Minami fell into thought, "I was skeptical at first, but to think a woman was behind those…" he then caught the odd stare that Kallen gave him, "Uh, no offense, Kallen," the resident redhead just countered with a disapproving scowl which made him lower his head.

"Regardless," Ohgi continued, "If she helped us yesterday, then why is she attacking the place?"

"I don't know," Zero answered, "But you saw her skills, she's a needed asset for the Black Knights."

"Is that the reason why you issued an order to capture her?" Ohgi asked.

"Yes, though not only that," Zero flapped his cape minimally, "She's been a great help to me, and she doesn't seem to plan on causing any casualties, and I want to hear her reason for doing this directly. Besides, we'll probably suffer unneeded losses if we were to use deadly firearms," he walked away from the entrance of the room to let them see the mess inside.

"What happened here?" Ohgi repeated what Kallen said earlier as he slowly walked towards their fallen comrades.

"She had no weapons when I first saw her attack Tamaki and his group in the recreation room," Zero continued to talk when the abled soldiers rushed to aid the unconscious men on the floor, "She's been scavenging weapons from the people she knocked out. Fortunately she's only been met with debilitating weapons, though if she's already in possession of other firearms, she's not showing any signs of using them."

"Zero, where did you find this girl?" Ohgi asked while being amazed and terrified at the same time.

"People of the same cause tend to gravitate towards one another," he excused, though only Kallen noticed his avoidance of the question.

"I see, she was also part of the reason the Black Knights were pieced back together," Ohgi stated, "Alright, I'll pass down your orders to the others after we carried these guys to the medical ward," he picked up Sugiyama and slumped the man's arm over his shoulder. Zero agreed and they went off, leaving Lelouch and Kallen at the empty hallway.

"Where did you find her, Zero?" the redhead gave him an accusatory glance, and Lelouch knew why. Even if the mystery girl is a major reason that the Black Knights are back together with most of their full force, thanks to her saving their leader, her current actions shows that she's capable of tearing the Black Knights apart from the inside. Whether she plans to do it or not is the question.

"She approached me," he answered, "The day before I recover my memories, she told me to talk to her when I'm 'Zero'"

"What? So she knows who you are before then?" Lelouch just bobbed his obsidian mask.

"We met again the day after the events in Babel Tower, and she… allied herself to me," he purposely left out the part where he hugged the girl despite being wary of her at the time. Kallen gave him a look of astonishment, and it was the second time he saw that expression from her. The first time was when she found out his identity, and that didn't end well.

"Zero, I know you're brilliant and it's not my place to say this, but isn't that suspicious?" she started, "A super soldier suddenly came about and offered her services to you, and you just accepted?" For the first time as Zero and Q-1, Lelouch felt small.

"I…" Lelouch wanted to say that he felt threatened or was threatened, but nothing of the sort happened so he was stuck in 'I', as rare at it is.

"Wait, did you use your Geass on her?" Kallen questioned in a whisper.

"I didn't or rather I couldn't," the redhead gave him another questioning look, "She has something that could cancel my Geass…" when that left Lelouch's mouth, he knew he's gonna get another earful.

"Zero..." Lelouch prepared himself, but Kallen was interrupted by the sound in the intercoms.

"Umm, paging Zero and Q-1, I repeat, paging Zero and Q-1," the voice echoed throughout the consulate.

"Was that C.C.?" Lelouch asked and saw that Kallen has the same question on her head.

"What's this?" the voice started, "Oh, the intruder had kidnapped me and wants the two of you to come to the storage room, alone. I repeat, alone. Anybody, except for those two, who tries to get near the storage room will be shot by multiple sedatives or kicked painfully in the face," she let out a sneeze that reminded them that the immortal was sick.

"Zero, Kallen, please come," C.C. started, "She threatened on spilling my guts and see if I'll grow more if you don't, so please co–achoo! And bring a box of tissues with you," with that addendum, the message ended with a click. Both Lelouch and Kallen groaned at the disturbing image of the immortal woman's unlimited guts spilled all around the consulate.

There was a bout of silence as the two exchanged stares, or in Kallen's case, look at the reflection of her troubled and bemused face through Zero's shiny mask.

"Does that girl know about C.C.'s… you know, unable to die ability?" Kallen broke the silence.

"I don't know, but if she does, I doubt I'll be surprised," Lelouch answered with a dejected sigh, "Lead the way, Q-1."

* * *

Annella looked at the ill immortal sitting on a wooden chair. They were at the moderately large storage room full of supplies and random stuffs. They had arrived ten minutes earlier at the damp place after coming from the broadcasting room. C.C. had took someone's Black Knight's jacket along the way, and put it on because she felt cold. She was tied up on the chair by Annella as planned. Her wrists and ankles are tied tightly on the arms and legs of the chair, making her look the role of a hostage. It was part of the limette's plan, though Annella was rather creeped out by the teasing moans she let out while being tied up.

"Something the matter?" C.C. said when she saw the girl's troubled expression. The currently mute Annella just stared at her with questions on her face. Having had countless interactions with mortals in her long life made her an expert in reading people's faces, thus even if the redhead can't communicate with dialogue, she can precisely guess the girl's thoughts through her expressions.

The girl slumped her shoulders and slowly shook her head. C.C. guessed that she's worried at the success rate of their current plan, and the girl was indeed worried about it.

"Don't worry, if a kiss caused this then I'm sure a kiss can solve it as well," she smiled, and the girl just looked at her with doubt, "I'll use my tongue," she smoothly brought out her tongue as if to prove she's deadly capable on using it.

Annella looked at her with a bit of embarrassment. She usually doesn't mind talks that involves r-18 stuff, but if it includes her parents, she has an inkling that she'll be traumatized for life, and the therapist who'll take up her case will definitely be a rich man or woman.

"If I can ménage-a-trois my way into this, then all will be good," the lime-haired beauty said proudly and teasingly, "Who knows, maybe you'll be conceive earlier."

And that was all Annella could take before she gone beet red as a chill ran down her spine. She covered her ears tightly, closed her eyes, and crouched into a corner to ignore the woman that could potentially be her step-mother. The thought of it increased the freakish queerness she'd been feeling and she couldn't help but want to smash her head into a wall to forget everything that ever happened. C.C. on the other hand is pondering whether time-travel works that way.

They stayed like that for about two minutes before a knock on the door took their divided attention. They both exchanged glances, and nod as they put their plan into action. Annella put a tape on C.C.'s mouth and then quickly hid away from view. She removed her presence as she became one with the Japanese doll beside her.

"I'm here," Zero's voice echoed from the outside. There were some voices of protest coming from behind him, but it was hushed when Zero delivered an 'I got this' speech.

"Back down, Zero," Kallen's voice hollered out. A second later, a large bump on the metallic storage door was placed upon C.C.'s sight. The force caused the lock to break and the door opened quietly.

When the two heroes arrived, they saw the kidnapped immortal tied in a chair. They rushed to her side, and was about to free her when the floor beneath them disappear, causing the three individuals to fall helplessly in the dark.

* * *

"Ugh…" Lelouch groaned out. He felt a soft sensation when he tried to move his body, and when he raised his head, he saw Kallen laying protectively underneath him, her hands clutching on his cape to make sure he didn't fall on an unlikely death, "Kallen?" his reassurance over his safety was immediately replaced with worry as the girl didn't move, "Hey, Kallen!" he shook her slightly and a wave of relief washed over him as Kallen started to groan.

"Zero…" Kallen said weakly. She looked around for a second, lost in her thoughts before going wide eye in remembering their situation, "Zero! Are you alright?" she asked while still under him.

"Worry about yourself first," Lelouch said with a smile, though his mask unfortunately hid it from the girl's view.

"I'm glad you're ok," Kallen said, sheepishly smiling as she noticed her arms embracing him awkwardly.

They stayed like that for a while, seemingly lost in their own world as they stare at each other. And even though Lelouch wore a helmet, for a spectator like the forgotten immortal, it felt like Kallen could see through the violet shades of Zero's mask.

C.C. was troubled, she didn't want to interrupt the two, as them exchanging such glances was the goal of their plan to begin with, but the itchiness on her nose made the ruination of their moment inevitable. As the seconds passed by, the tied up witch struggled on holding out till a sudden breeze of cold air broke through her resistance, causing her to let out a sneeze with her closed mouth.

The two teens instantly snapped out of their trance and saw their rescue target lying head first on the ground while tied in a chair and a tape plastered around her mouth. They promptly walked towards her in haste to fix the uncomfortable position she was left in.

"Thanks, you got the tissues?" she said with bleary eyes after Zero removed the tape on her mouth. Lelouch then gave her the box she wanted while Kallen cut the ropes that tied her with her pouch knife. C.C. took the facial tissue with her freed hand and immediately wiped her reddened nose with it.

"You're still ill," after freeing her, Kallen brought the back of her hand on C.C.'s neck to feel her temperature. She felt the immortal's feverish heat the moment her skin connected with hers, "Zero we need to get out of here," she took the lime-haired woman and carried her over her back. C.C. snuggled over Kallen's piggyback carry, while Lelouch felt somewhat emasculated by their roles, though he got over it a second later when he concluded that this is the most efficient way of travelling.

"It seems we didn't fell that high," Zero stated as he looked at the dark crevice from where they came from, "Where are we, anyway?" Kallen just shrugged, but the girl behind her raised her head.

"We're in another secret passage," she started, "The other one was made for Knightmares and heavy transport while this one is made for human travels."

"I see."

"Why did she dropped us here?" Kallen brought up, "More importantly, she knows where the secret passages are? Just who is that girl?"

In truth, Annella didn't know the layout of the consulate, and only the Chinese soldiers knew of the passage. C.C. however, found it in one of her whimsical escapades, so she was the one who plotted on dropping the three of them in this secluded area.

"It doesn't matter," Lelouch said, "We only have one direction to go to, let's get going."

The passage got darker the more they move forward, so Lelouch took out the baton he was handed, Kallen's stun gun, and teared a piece of cloth on his cape. He wrapped the cloth around the wooden handle of the plastic baton, and then struck the cloth with electricity to create an impromptu torch. It took them about half an hour to reach the end of the passage, but rather than be met by an exit, there was only a grayish square room with a circle metallic door at its ceiling. It was placed in the middle, and the lack of a handle suggests that it can only be opened from the outside.

"A dead end…" Kallen said in dejection.

"Damn," Lelouch removed his helmet to relieve himself from the uncomforting heat that's making him sweat profusely because of his confining clothes.

He looked around the walls and found candles placed on a number of ceramic plates placed on uncharacteristic ledges stuck on the walls. He took the time to light every candle up with the dying torch while Kallen took a knee to lay C.C. gently.

"I'm sorry, you two," C.C. weakly said when Lelouch walked towards them. She roused up with a flair of dramatic by acting faintly as she got up. Kallen immediately went to her rescue and help her stand properly, "This wouldn't had happened if I wasn't captured," she coughed. Kallen and Lelouch just stared at her, slightly perplexed at her odd behavior.

"Hey," the redhead said, "We don't blame you, and it's not your fault."

"You're right," the woman smiled, "I should thank the two of you instead," she slipped away from Kallen's hold and hobbled towards Lelouch, "Thank you…" she said when the boy caught her ailing figure. She then did something that surprised every vicinity in the room aside from her.

She held Lelouch's cheeks and tiptoed towards his face, planting her lips on his. The man known as Zero was taken aback, but was stopped by the girl's surprisingly strong hold of him. He was about to pull out before the green-haired beauty locked him up with her tongue. Kallen, the only spectator of the scene, was stunned at the duration of the immortal's 'Thank You Kiss.' Her mouth was gaped slightly, no words coming out as she stared at their locked figures. It took a while, but Lelouch finally found the strength to break away from the woman's strangle. He noticed the sly grin coming from C.C. while he stared at her in shock.

"W-What are you doing, witch?!" Kallen voiced out Lelouch's question loudly as he was left stunned. The redhead's voice continued to reverberate in the secluded room, but it was suddenly put to stop when the witch approached the source and silenced it with her lips.

The same thing happened, and both the kisser and the victim couldn't help but reminisce their early affair, intensifying the kiss. The immortal made sure to better the experience, after all, she has her pride. Kallen on the other hand, melted over C.C.'s embrace and her knees bent weakly as the kiss continued. It went on to the point that the shorter girl stood flatly as she continues to lean forwards to the red-haired beauty. A few seconds later, the two women fell on the ground with their eyes closed as their tongues danced wildly in the candle-lit room.

Lelouch gulped at the lovely sight he's seeing and couldn't help wondering whether he was dreaming or not. His rational side then screamed at him to get his act together and ignore the surging flow of blood between his legs to stop the witch before things gets out of hand.

"Hey, witch, let Kallen go," he ordered in a flustered state, his voice seemingly hesitant to the tease. He was surprised when C.C. did as told and left a reddened and dizzy Kallen. She then looked at him with the same grin she wore and Lelouch couldn't help but be somewhat annoyed at himself for being stopped by it. He grumbled under his breath and walked towards them, but his stride was suddenly interrupted when C.C. kicked his legs, tripping him forwards.

With his poor athleticism, he fell comically to the witch's trap, and landed over to the confused redhead when the immortal evaded his fall. He felt his lips touch something, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring intently at the blue irises of his loyal subordinate. Their lips connected just as strands of their hairs interlocked. It was probably because of the green witch's influence that the two of them didn't instantly broke the kiss, but instead kept the chaste kiss as they continued to admire the person they're connected with. Kallen let out a soft moan when she closed her eyes in yearning, and Lelouch took it as a sign to deepen their bond. He closed his eyes and let his instincts guide his body.

"Good," C.C. whispered to herself. She sat at the side quietly, admiring the spectacle that resulted from her hard work. She hadn't noticed it, but she started feeling better the more they continued to make out.

* * *

When the three fell from the trap door, Annella slipped away from the crowd that formed around the hole. There were talks of rescuing them by coming down the hole, so she immediately closed the entrance with a push of a button. Since no one knows about the passage, they couldn't have guessed that the button needed to open and close the door is in the back of the Japanese doll she hid from view. She took the doll's kimono when she slipped away from the Black Knights to hide it better, and also because she likes the appearance, which was black in color, designed by white and red petals, and tied in a cute black and red bow.

After slipping away from the view of the order's members, she ran towards the one destination that C.C. and her parents will arrived at, the strongest and most secure room of the consulate, its military briefing room placed in the middle of the consulate's main castle. She had taken out the big wigs of the order and the people in the control room in order to limit their capability on conducting a thorough search, though she had left Ohgi to at least keep the Black Knights in line, and so far it's working. No one had seen her yet, and nobody's panicking, though a lot seemed on edge.

She also found out earlier from C.C. that the long-haired guy she knocked out earlier was the Chinese General leading the place, so she instantly relished on her good luck after learning of that information.

When she arrived at the room twenty minutes later, she searched the entrance to the secret passage and found it hidden under a sofa. She went down the tunnel through a ladder and closed the heavy circular door to deny access from below, and when she came up, she closed the entrance and fixed the sofa's position. Afterwards, she put on the kimono she took with the intention of pretending to be a Japanese doll to camouflage herself, since the room is chuck full of inanimate objects meant for decoration. It was laid uniformly on the sides while a huge technological table is placed on the middle with lots of computers and screens. She then saw her reflection on one of the screens and admired her look. It fitted on her nicely though its skirt is rather short, only reaching above her knees. She then took notice of her red hair and she frowned when she realized that she wouldn't pass up as a Japanese doll, even if she can pretend to be a one armed manikin.

As she pondered on what to do, she noticed the large armor standing intimidatingly at the middle of the decorated manikin guards. A smile crept up on her face when an idea started to brew. She rolled the sleeves of her kimono and started taking the armor apart. It took a while, but with all the effort she put in, she was finally donned in an ancient Chinese General's armor for war.

The minutes passed by and she still hasn't noticed any signs of recovery. Her whole left arm was now transparent and her voice still wouldn't come out. She was sweating profusely under the heavy armor and thoughts of removing it surfaced from her mind, but before she can entertain it, a sudden creaking of the door made her jump. She hastily lined herself with the manikin guards as a person stepped inside the room.

"I'm telling you, this is where I end up when I fell in there," a brown-haired soldier said, his usual red headband was replaced by a large square bandage on his forehead.

"Tamaki? He's already awake? Then again, he always had a thick skull…" Annella quickly shut her mouth as she realized she can speak again. She glanced at her left arm and was goodly surprised by its solidity, _"C.C. you did it!"_ her celebration was cut short since her voice was picked up by the sharp ears of Tamaki.

"You hear that?" he said to the person behind him, and Annella's heart started to race. A second later, the person walked inside, and was revealed to Annella as the younger version of her foster uncle, Kaname Ohgi.

"You heard something?" Ohgi asked.

"Yeah, I heard someone talking about my skull," he said which caused the hidden time traveler to nervously close her eyes, in hopes for the bad guys to go away.

"Are you sure you're not hearing things?" a person with glasses came in together with three armed soldiers, and Annella wanted to faint at the sight of them.

"No, I'm not!" Tamaki exclaimed, he then whisked away and moved towards the armor that hid Annella, "I'm sure I heard it around here…" his quest to find the intruder was fulfilled when he noticed the intimidating armor in the middle. He was about to examine it, but was instead held by the neck with its armored hand.

"Ack! What the hell?!" Tamaki tried to squirm away from its grip.

The others were surprised, but Ohgi immediately snapped out of it and pointed a gun towards the metal apparition. When Annella saw that, she tossed aside Tamaki and poised to rush Ohgi, causing the man to fire his gun. Because of his panic, he didn't noticed that the gun he pulled out wasn't the tranquilizer gun that Zero ordered to use. When Annella heard the loud bang of the firearm, she instantly recognized it as a pistol and tried to stay away from its trajectory. Fortunately, she managed to move her head in time, but the bullet hit the side of her helmet, breaking the old relic and revealing her face.

"K-Kallen?" Ohgi said wide-eyed and the other soldiers mirrored his expression.

"G-Greetings, friends…" Annella said, but she was only met with more silence.

Tamaki stood up from the floor a moment later and wore a proud look.

"And you said I'm just hearing things," the others just ignored him. When he got on with the program and looked at the girl in the armor, his face went pale, "G-Ghost!"

 _"Out of all the people to expose me…"_ she sighed and raised her hands in surrender.

* * *

Awkward glances were exchanged between Lelouch and Kallen as they try to find the right words to say in the hive of their mind. They had just put a stop of their intimate act, courtesy of C.C.'s giggling, and the result was a variation of blushing faces and teenage confusion.

"Over already?" with a satisfied smile plastered on her face, C.C. approached the sitting duo, "Don't mind me, I'll join in later."

"Now's not the time," Lelouch coolly said, but his reddened appearance says otherwise. He stood up and turned around to hide his flustered face, "We need to find a way out of here."

"H-He's right," Kallen nervously followed up. She also stood up and turned the other way around to hide her embarrassment, "We need to get out of here."

"Do we have to?" C.C. asked.

"Yes!" the two said simultaneously which caused them to turn around when they bump stares at one another.

C.C. was worried whether she accomplished her task properly so she pondered on continually teasing the two or not. She decided on the former and was about to put it into action before a wave of light came down on them. They looked at the source and found the heavy door opened.

"Hey! Are you guys in there?" the loud voice of Tamaki echoed in the room.

"Tamaki?" Kallen voiced out and Lelouch immediately put on his mask, "We're down here!"

"Alright, I'm bringing down the ladder, so watch out!" what followed was a swift freefall of a metallic ladder with a grinning Tamaki at the bottom. His grin was instantly replaced by a pained expression when his feet touch the ground, "Ow, this stupid old piece of crap," he smacked the ladder as if it's a sentient being.

"Tamaki," Zero called.

"Buddy!" the brown-haired man yelled out, "What do you think? I did a great job didn't I?" Zero only nodded while Kallen sighed in relief, C.C. however was a bit unsettled, "Oh right, we also caught the intruder," when he said that, the trio looked at him with surprised attention.

After ordering Tamaki to blow out the flames of the candles, Zero, Kallen, and C.C. came up and was surprised at the sight of their intruder dressed in a kimono. Her hands were tied behind her back and she wore an annoyed look towards the guns pointed at her. Zero noticed this and told his men to lower their arms. C.C. remained passive despite being alleviated by the girl's wholly left arm, Kallen on the other hand, felt puzzled at the girl's appearance, not because she's wearing a kimono, but because her face reminds her of her own. Annella noticed her curious stare, and tried to move her face away from sight, but considering her situation, she was failing tremendously.

"Zero," Ohgi said, "I'm glad you three are alright."

"Yes. How did you found out about this passage?" Zero asked.

"It was thanks to Tamaki," Kallen and C.C. looked at him strangely, and he guessed that Zero was doing the same behind his mask, "Apparently, he fell on the passage yesterday after being drunk, it was also thanks to him that we caught the intruder," he pointed at the girl who's shyly hiding her face, "He did a surprisingly good job," he said with a chuckle.

"I see, I guess I've been underestimating him," Zero whispered to himself. He then walked towards the captive girl who was the source of their base's turmoil.

"Annella," Zero's articulate voice took the attention of everyone in the room, "Care to explain why you did… all of these?"

Annella brought her head down, seemingly distraught. Zero sighed inwardly when he realized she wasn't planning on saying anything. He was about to order locking her up momentarily, but her sudden laugh caught all of them off guard.

"How pathetic," she said after her maniacal laugh. It put the soldiers behind her on edge, "So this is the Order of the Black Knights? To be put in disarray by one little girl, how sad."

"What did you say?!" yelled by one of the soldiers. If not for Zero's presence and Ohgi's insistent command to not harm the girl, the man wouldn't hesitate on hitting her in the back of her head.

"I only said the truth," she spouted tauntingly, "Don't you agree as well, Zero?" everyone's stare fell in the man wearing an obsidian mask and waited for his response.

"Yes," he said which surprised his subordinates, "Is that the reason why you infiltrated the place, and pretended to be an enemy?" his question baffled everyone in the room, except C.C. which remained stoic despite the curious glint in her eyes.

"That's right," Annella said, "As a member of the Black Knights, I only wish for the betterment of the Order."

"I see," Zero started, "You're right, just looking at the result of your actions, our current security is indeed weak. If the Britannians were to attack us now, it would only result in our defeat," this silenced the man behind Annella, "Not to mention, this chaos was done by only one individual," Zero indicated and the girl bowed like an actress on a stage play.

"Very well, Annella, your concern is acknowledged," Zero ordered one of the soldiers to take off her restraints.

"Thank you," she said with a coy smile.

The sudden appearance of Tamaki from down under provided the needed calm to ease the tension brewing in the room.

"So, have you guys decided on whether she's a ghost or not?" everyone looked at him oddly.

"Go back," C.C. said.

"Huh, why?" he asked. C.C. only pointed downwards.

 _"Promotion's on halt,"_ Lelouch thought as he relished on having dealt with the day's disturbance.

* * *

This went longer than I expected, seriously.

*Oh yeah, Naomi's alive, yay! She's only a minor supporting character so I expect none of you will complain about it. Frankly, I put her there because I couldn't find someone whom Kallen can talk to with with her female troubles. The Black Knights could use more prominent ladies in my opinion, though that's only my opinion, that's why I'm putting it here.

Chapter 7 will probably be out late, I have the vision for it already, but my personal life's been bugging me, apparently my friends are worried I'm not being social enough, which I can't deny. So make do with this for now.


End file.
